The History Of Dental Implants-00-5499

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It is a little known fact that the history of dental implants actually stems back as far as 600AD and although the techniques and materials were far from what we use today, the pieces of jagged shell cut into tooth-like shapes worked well for its time. A 1930s archaeological dig in Honduras uncovered the first example of an ancient implant and over the following few years, other examples of implants were found in excavations in Egypt where ivory and shell were found to be commonplace. This led scientists to question why such a seemingly simple invention had yet to catch on and they soon made up for lost time.

Titanium in Teeth?

In 1952, Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark was working in a modest laboratory in the Swedish town of Lund when he stumbled upon his very own serendipity - better known as a lucky breakthrough! During his bone healing research, he was using microscopes that were made from titanium but he became frustrated when he discovered that the titanium was bonding to the living bone tissue he was working on.

He soon realised that far from being an irritation, he had actually discovered that ...
... if titanium could be fused into living bone he could invent an implant that would fuse from a tooth (or a prosthetic tooth) into the bone as it does in nature but with even more force. After a few years of continued testing, the first ever application of osseointegration was tested in 1965 on a Swedish man named Gosta Larsson and the edentulous patient still has a full mouth of teeth attached to the roots to this day.

The 1980s welcomed a whole new era of technology with osseointegration used to affix individual teeth and bridges into people's mouths with a success rate of over 90 percent. Nowadays, even more modifications and improvements have been made with healing time for a patient reduced to an all-time minimum and pain levels are also much less.

Teething Troubles

As well as titanium, many other metals have been tried and tested as dental implants, all yielding little success. Gold and silver fail to work consistently enough to be usable and even the use of human teeth and porcelain failed to bring success. Gold implants are used but they regularly fall out and although they are solid enough not to break apart, without the fusing features of titanium, it lacks the natural ability to stay in place on a long term basis.

Gold and silver implants also have a higher likelihood of being rejected by the body and pushed out. Around five per cent of titanium implants will be rejected by the body while around 30 per cent will be naturally dispelled if they are made from other materials. Coupled with the lack of ability to remain attached in the mouth with the same force as titanium, the conclusion must be that no other metal rivals the sustainability and reliability of titanium leaving osseointegration the preferred choice.

Modern Teeth

Currently, scientists are working on using ceramic materials in the manufacturing of dental implants with zircona (ZrO2) so far proving the most likely candidate to succeed. The metal is closely related to titanium and its biocompatibility properties are similar. It also boasts another positive feature with its natural tooth-like colour, which may just prove to make it a strong contender to compete with titanium over the next few years.

The fusing properties of a titanium dental implant are undeniably the crucial feature that is lacking in other metals thus ensuring nothing will work with as much success as a dental implant made from titanium. At least until the ever-moving world of science creates a new invention that will leave us wondering why we hadn't thought of it years before!

About the Author:

DentistAbroad is a UK-based dental tour operator, offering a wide range of treatments, including http://www.dentistabroad.co.uk/. For http://www.dentistabroad.co.uk/, you can visit the Harley Street consultation to have minor treatments or a follow-up appointment.