Sir, we enjoyed your editorial entitled How long will implants last? (BDJ 2015;219: 243) in which you compare the massive upsurge in implant dentistry to the boom in frozen food in the 1960s.

The comparison is absolutely spot on, and could go further too. Decades later, everybody can have frozen food; yet we now rejoice in being served fresh organic food, eschewing frozen food where possible. Frozen food only comes into its own when fresh food isn't available. So too with dental implants. An amazing tool; which should be used with discernment and caution, but only when the real McCoy is not available or cannot be maintained.

1. London