The Evolution of Dental Implants

How Were Dental Implants Discovered?

In the late 1800s, a dentist named Paul Chamberland came up with the idea of using metal to make dental implants. His design was not very successful, however, because the metal did not bond well with the jawbone either.

In 1952, an orthopedic surgeon named Per-Ingvar Branemark was researching the microscopic healing of bony defects by studying the healing of rabbit's bone with microscopic titanium-made heads with lenses at the tips. Branemark photographed the bone's healing and later when he went to remove the microscopic heads, he couldn't as he had found that the titanium heads were biocompatible and had integrated into the bone. He found they were not rejected by the body's immune system like other earlier types of materials other people over the years had tried to use to fill missing teeth spaces.

Are Dental Implants a Good Option for Missing Teeth?

If you're missing one or more teeth, then you may be considering dental implants as a way to replace them. Dental implants are a great option because they look and feel just like your natural teeth. They also don't require any special care; you can brush and floss them just like your regular teeth.

Today, dental implants are commonly used and can make the difference between someone having teeth and not having teeth. Dental implants are also a great option for individuals who cannot tolerate wearing dentures. They can also be used to replace individual missing teeth.

Dental implants have come quite a long way in recent years. The traditional approach taken by dentists attempting to repair teeth that were beyond the scope of typical, restorative dental procedures was to (essentially) try to fix the original tooth by any means necessary.