Big data use in dental research is proving quite useful in identifying potential confounding variables and health factors that could affect treatment outcomes. For invasive procedures like dental implant placement, the more information available to ensure a good long-term outcome, the better. Dental Tribune International spoke with Dr Georgios Chatzopoulos, co-author of a retrospective analysis of more than 50,000 implant cases, about how he was able to use big data to identify potential causes of implant failure and what his results could mean for implantology and research.