What Are Dental Implants

A natural tooth is composed of two parts, a root and a crown. The root serves as an anchor within the jawbone, and holds the crown in place. The crown is the visible part that is used to chew food. The root and crown are continuous with each other, and are essentially one piece. A dental implant is a prosthetic device that is inserted into the jawbone, which serves as a replacement for the root of a natural tooth. The implant is the first part of a two-part prosthesis. The crown is a separate metal-ceramic structure that mimics a natural tooth crown in both appearance and function, and is attached to the implant (Figures 1-3).

Modern root-form dental implants are made of titanium, and have been used since the early 1960s to replace missing teeth.1 The success and predictability of this treatment was such that titanium implants were then used in hip joint replacement surgery starting in the early 1980s.2 Over the past 50 years, implant dentistry has evolved from an experimental treatment to a highly predictable option to help replace missing teeth (Figures 4-6). Implants are now widely used in daily practice for patients who are missing one, multiple or all of their teeth. This is because modern implant dentistry offers not only significant functional advantages for many patients when compared to traditional fixed bridgework or removable dentures, but it has also yielded excellent well-documented long-term results, with 10-year success and survival above 95%.3

Titanium implants work because they can achieve anchorage in the bone with direct bone-to-implant contact, a phenomenon termed osseointegration. The most important pioneer of modern implant dentistry was Professor P. I. Branemark, from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His preclinical and clinical studies in the 1960s formed the basis for our work as dental implant surgeons today.3

References

Adell R, et al. Intra-Osseous Anchorage of Dental Prostheses II: Review of Clinical Approaches. Scandinavian Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 1970; 4: 19-34.

McCutchen J, et al. Osseointegration of Titanium Implants in Total Hip Arthroplasty. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 1990: 114-125.

Buser D, et al. Modern implant dentistry based on osseointegration: 50 years of progress, current trends and open questions. 2017; 73: 7-21.