Evidence of dental implants date back over 1350 years to the Maya civilisation but it was Per Ingvar Braenmark who made modern implant dentistry. Swedish orthopaedic surgeon Braenmark experimented wi…

[Dentimplants]

Evidence of dental implants date back over 1350 years to the Maya civilisation but it was Per Ingvar Braenmark who made modern implant dentistry. Swedish orthopaedic surgeon Braenmark experimented with titanium implants and discovered that titanium and bone react positively to each other. They react together in a process that is known as osseointegration which gives the false tooth a stable root. Teeth implants are made up of three components:

• The implant itself is a small screw like root which is drilled into the jawbone. There are many different types of implant which are suitable for different cases and different bone characteristics.
• An abutment is then inserted into the implant. The abutment is the connection between the implant and the crown.
• The crown is then fitted on top of the abutment. There will be a waiting period between placing the implant and abutment and fitting the crown. Crowns are usually made of porcelain and zirconium.

The operation will be carried out by an implant specialist. Most countries require an implant specialist to have been trained initially as a general dentist. The dentist will then need to carry out further training to be allowed to fit implants

Straight forward dental implant operations will take two visits to the surgery. The first and most evasive procedure is the fitting of the implant. Once this is done a healing period is required to allow the implant to integrate with the jaw bone. This process can take between 3 to 9 months and you may be required to visit the dentist during this time for check-ups to ensure the implant is loading correctly. After the healing period the crown will then be fitted and the patient should be walking away with a brand new tooth.

Some implant manufacturers are now producing immediate loading implants. These allow the crown to be placed on the same day as the implant meaning there is no need for a healing cap or temporary restoration. To be a candidate for the immediate loading procedure, you will have to have the optimum bone characteristics.

Patients who do not have optimum bone characteristics may be required to have bone augmentation. This adds another surgical phase onto the process. It involves harvesting bone from another part of the body and grafting it into the jaw to create enough quality bone in the receptor for implants to be placed. Alternatives to using your own bone include grafting third party bone or other synthetic materials. Bone grafting is a common and pretty straightforward procedure these days.