What are Dental Implants?

While the placement of dental implants was attempted for many decades in the twentieth century, it was not until the 1950’s that discoveries were made that laid the foundation for modern reconstructive surgery.

Professor Per-Ingvar Branemark was perhaps the most important figure in the advancement of implant dentistry. His significant breakthrough, in the 1950’s, was the discovery that bone can integrate with titanium components. That is, living bone could become so fused with the titanium oxide layer of an implant that the two could not be separated without fracture. This process, whereby nature allows the attachment of bone cells to the titanium surface became known as “osseointegration.”

As a result of studying the osseointegration process, scientists developed dental implants, which are simply small titanium cylinders placed into the jawbone to support replacement teeth. These titanium implants fuse with your bone and provide a permanent anchorage for a prosthetic reconstruction which looks and feels like a natural tooth. Worldwide more than 800,000 patients have been treated since 1965 with dental implant reconstructions.

The first step in the decision for dental implants is to make an appointment with a qualified dentist for an evaluation. He/She will examine your mouth and teeth and take a thorough medical and dental history. You’ll receive X-rays and possibly a CT scan, which will give the dentist a good idea of your bone density and the shape of your jaw. The Dental implants procedure is then usually completed in two phases.

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3 Responses to “ What are Dental Implants? ”

  • bonnie October 15th, 2008

    what can you tell me about subperiosteal implants? My dentist thinks this is the way I need to go since i do not have much bone left in my lower jaw.

  • Bruce McKelvy October 16th, 2008

    Subperiosteal implants have had a long history of problems. The CAD CAM procedure requires only one surgery but success is still limited. I have seen many patients with infections. There are small diameter short implants that can be considered; both mini implants and those from American Dental Implant which have a 3.5mm hex head so denture attachments can be placed on them.

  • Murry Shohat March 16th, 2009

    I was glad to see that “possibly a CT scan” was included in the article. We are beginning to witness the installation of in-practice CT by implantologists, as the cost of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) come down from the stratosphere. i-CAT and ProMax 3D are popping up.

    Based on actual experience, I’ve written a CBCT-centered article on dental implants at SCRIBD. It will be updated soon with a directory CBCT dentists, labs and dental schools, so that patients can find the best diagnostics BEFORE deep holes are drilled.

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