Need to decide on whom will do dental implants--my prosthodontist, periodontist or oral surgeon. how can a patient reliably choose?

My recommendation: Yes, unfortunately this is not something the patient can judge for themselves and i sympathize with your frustration. There is an answer however. Your general dentist should be the team captain with treatment choice and overseeing the entire process from start to finish. If you trust and respect your dentist, he\she does know who would be the best one to place the implant fixture. Ask.

Dental Implants: Chose the dentist who will restore the implants with crowns /bridges or appliances first. See if they are current in implant education. Members of the amer. Acad. Of implant dentistry are. So are those in the international college of implant dentistry. Ask for their credentials. Those taking a weekend course don't qualify as expert in doing implants restorations. Ask how many they have done too.

All of them: I see it this way: you have an architect, an engineer and contractors, the architect ( Prosthodontist or general dentist) will design (the teeth), the engineer ( oral surgeon or periodontist) will evaluate the structure based on the plans submitted by the architect and place the implant accordingly the contractor ( dental technician) will finish the design. As you see this is a team effort.

Team work: An oral surgeon, periodontist or general dentist with training in implants will install the implants. However, the dental specialist who places your implants will coordinate your treatment with your general dentist or prosthodontist. This way you get the best implant treatment.

Simple: The Prosthodontist is the team captain,as the final restoration will be done by him/her.They should do the planning to reverse engineer where the ideal location is for the best result. If they do not do the implant surgery as well, then work with them in choosing the best surgeon for you. At our implant center in King of Prussia,PA, we have an Oral surgeon and Prosthodontist and lab together.