Medium- or long-term failure of endosseous dental implants after osseointegration, when it has occurred, has been associated in the great majority of cases with occlusal overload. Overload depends ultimately on the number and location of occlusal contacts, which to a great extent are under the clinician's control. Much of our current understanding of occlusal contacts in this context is based on concepts derived from non-implant-borne prosthetics and has not been rigorously tested. The present article reviews occlussal contact designs and offers occlusion strategy guidelines for the main types of implant-borne prostheses.