**3. Diagnostic parameters to evaluate during implant maintenance protocol**

The success of any dental prosthesis begins with its maintenance and recall phase. Similarly, after the implants have been placed in the edentulous region, routine recall, evaluation, radiographs, and maintenance are necessary to achieve its long-term success. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the dental team to understand the etiology, provide appropriate preventive treatment and be well-versed with the maintenance protocol which should be performed at regular intervals that will assist the patient to maintain implant health.

The implant maintenance protocol consists of two phases:

#### **3.1 Phase 1: assessment phase**

The dentist will assess the patient's medical condition, analyze the risk factor/s which may pose as an etiology for the implant failure (**Table 3**). Along with the medical condition, the dental history of the patient should also be evaluated as it may provide us with information about the patient's oral hygiene and peri-implant status. It has been documented in multiple studies [37–39] that edentulous patients with high plaque scores before implant placement had experienced more implant failures than those with lower plaque scores. Furthermore, it has also been proven that patients treated for their periodontal conditions are more likely to experience

