What Are Dental Implants, And What Do They Do?
Dental implants are titanium devices used by dentists to support restorations. They can hold in a fake tooth or a group of teeth. In today’s day and age, dental implants are made to be similar to our natural teeth's roots. They are not natural though, so needless to say they will feel slightly different in your mouth when chewing and such forth.
Although you may think this is a new technology, it is actually quiet old. There have been implants found on ancient Mayan mummies dating all the way back to 600 AD. That specimen was found replacing a missing incisor, the mummy appeared to be a woman in her early twenties. So this is real history!
Experiments were conducted on bunnies by Cambridge University in the 1950's that propelled the technology even further. It was found that titanium could bind itself to the natural teeth, thus allowing a more permanent repair. I don't prefer cruel animal testing but I appreciate their sacrifice for this worthy find.
A case study was published in 1965 by a dentist named Per-Ingvar Brånemark, where the first human volunteer was used. He explained in his documents how this was achieved and continued his independent research until 1978. At that point he partnered up with a Swedish company and they went on to market the product together.
The implants are made of very pure; non comercial, titanium. The screw itself has a polished surface. Sometimes Ti-6Al-4V alloy is used as a substitution for the titanium.
Highly succesful, usually 75% or better sucess rate. The dentist or surgeon drills into the bone of the jaw. This can be done with hand osteotomes, or there are drills that speeds can be regulated on. This is a careful procedure so that no bones in the mouth suffer damage. Ususally it is done incrimentally, in anywhere between 3 and 7 steps. They begin with a very small drill and work their way to the larger ones until the hole is the correct size.
Before you run off and start getting holes drilled into your jaw take some time to consider the quality of the bone itself. There has to be enough bone there to drill into, to start, and it has to be strong enough to support the implant. Your dentist can add more bone to your jaw with a bone graft procedure, but that is just a lot more poking around that has to be done inside of your mouth. I don’t know how interested I would personally be in that, but if you need a new tooth it might be worth it.
Now you have the basic facts about dental implants. The decision over whether this is the best choice for your situation is entirely up to you and your dentist.
I'm a dental assistant specializing in sedation dentistry in Minnesota. You may also be interested in reading more information about what people are saying.