Dental Implants: From the Past to the State of the Art

We have provided our patients with dental implant-supported crowns, bridges and dentures since 1985. 

Although the field of implant dentistry has dramatically progressed over time, the history is remains interesting. 

Please share my passion from my introduction to the UCSF, Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) implant syllabus that was published in 1997. 

 

“Human history is replete with attempts of dental implantation for missing teeth. Archeological findings show that the Egyptians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Etruscans, and Chinese transplanted teeth from one person’s mouth into another.

The practice of tooth transplantation developed later in Europe. Generally, only the wealthy or the nobility would receive a transplant—the teeth generally acquired from the poor, who either sold the teeth for money or simply had them removed against their will.

Dental implants that employed artificial materials became popular over

100 years ago. Beginning in 1887, a lead root containing a platinum pin was fused to a porcelain crown and then inserted into the jaw. Other materials included silver capsules, gold or iridium tubes, and corrugated porcelain teeth.

Vitallium, a cobalt–chromium alloy, was introduced to dentistry in the 1930s

as a metal for removable partial dentures. Screws were machined from Vitallium

and first placed in human jaw bone in 1937 at the Brigham Hospital in Boston.

In 1952 Dr. Per–Ingvar Brånemark, a Swedish orthopedic surgeon, began his extensive study of cylindrical, threaded implants revolutionizing the world of dental implants. In 1986, the Brånemark system received provisional acceptance by the American Dental Association. Although many clinicians contributed to the development root–form implants, it was the extensive documentation from Dr. Brånemark that precipitated the major interest of implants in the United States.

Titanium has been used in orthopedics for more than 20 years without one

documented case of incompatibility. This material also has many favorable

characteristics ideal for dental implants. Titanium is inert in tissue, possesses good mechanical properties and stimulates bone anchoring.

Currently, more than 125 million Americans suffer from the loss of natural teeth. After complete loss of teeth, the jaw begins to shrink in size. Ultimately, this leads to problems with denture fit and function.

Osseointegration is a process by which dental implants integrate with the bone, allowing permanent replacement of teeth and normal function. Dental implants are artificial substitutes for natural tooth roots. Replacement teeth are attached to the part of the implant that projects through the gums.

Dental implants can provide non–removable tooth replacement in the toothless jaw, stability for a full denture, support a fixed bridge eliminating the need for a removable partial denture, and also restore a single missing tooth without the need to alter the adjacent natural teeth.

The placement of dental implants involves three basic stages of treatment. The initial evaluation typically consists of a thorough examination of your oral tissues and supporting bone in the jaw, specialized x–rays that show the jaw bone shape and height, study models of your upper and lower teeth to analyze the bite and tooth positions, and consultation with the implant surgeon.

The surgical treatment consists of placing the implants into the jaw bone.

Most often, simple local anesthetic ensures patient comfort during this procedure. Patients typically have minimal discomfort following implant surgery and can quickly return to their normal activities. Over a period of six weeks, the implants undergo become intimately attached to the bone.

Lastly, the replacement teeth are created and securely attached to the abutment posts. This phase of therapy is very technically demanding and will require several appointments to ensure a cosmetic, functional, and long–lasting result.

Maintenance and follow–up care are extremely important with visits typically scheduled every three to six months.

Osseointegration is predictable. Our personal success rate is over 98% in both jaws, which makes this one of the most predictable procedures available in medicine or dentistry. If properly cared for, your implants should serve you the remainder of your life.

Successful implant rehabilitations require close communication between the dental implant team members in all phases of treatment. The dental implant team consists of the surgeon, restorative dentist or prosthodontist, dental technician, and other dental specialists as needed. Only when each clinician is involved at the onset of therapy will optimal results consistently be obtained.”