Dental implants have developed over thousands of years to become a remarkable replacement for natural teeth. For centuries, our forefathers developed methods to assist people in managing and caring for their teeth. They knew the significance of teeth to their wellbeing and survival. They were also concerned about the appearance of their smiles.
Although dental implants as we all understand at modern times are a relatively new creation, the history of dental implants goes back thousands of years.
Earliest attempts of dental implants
Some of the earliest attempts of dental implants start to times of yore. Their goal was to fill the areas left behind by missing teeth. They performed this on the living and also the dead. Skull discoveries show that various materials were used to replace teeth as early as 2000 to 3000 years ago. Carved teeth made of quartz, ivory or wood, later also made of iron, were used. Later on, plastics were also used for dentures.
In the last few decades, various forms of removable and fixed dentures have been developed, but not all of them have proven themselves equally well. The removable dentures had the disadvantage that they could wobble, cause pressure points and were often perceived as a foreign body by the wearer.
Fixed dentures have to be anchored to neighboring teeth, which means that they have to be ground and therefore healthy tooth substance has to be destroyed. In addition, the pressure exerted by the root of a healthy tooth in the jaw is important in order to stimulate the jawbone to regenerate bone material. The lack of anchoring in the jaw often leads to a long-term reduction in bone density and a regression of the bones in the jaw.
Some doctors endeavored to create dental implants at the end of the 18th century, but before the existence of sterilizers, the surgery was continuously contaminated and implants were refused. Physicians began to search for good materials for implantation.
In 1888 Berry revealed the law of biocompatibility. In 1891 a research by the private lecturer N.N. Znamensky “Implantation of artificial teeth” was issued. He contended that the most optimal location to mount the implant is not the cavity in the removed tooth, but the reinstated bone.
At this period, the researchers were reviewing the acceptance, and the dynamic use of metals begins in clinical practice. In 1952, the Swedish scientist P. Branemark stated the essential circumstances for the success of dental prosthetics through implantation – surface hygiene, non-intrusiveness, sterility, and symmetrical dimension. Dr. Branemark had found osseointegration. This procedure occurs when an implant blends with the remaining bone structure. Finally, science has discovered an alloy that may not be rejected by the body and will fuse with the bone for correct anchoring and stability.
1965: Placement of the primary titanium implant
After additional years of research, Dr. Branemark placed the primary successful two-stage titanium implant in an exceedingly live patient. This implant took six months to correctly integrate with the bone tissue and survived for astonishing forty years.. Thus, the modern implant as we all know it today was born, because of the creativity of Dr. Branemark.
implant advances and innovations in implant dentistry have occurred within the decades since. New oral surgery techniques are developed. Patient recovery has improved and therefore the stability of dental implants has increased. New implant shapes are accustomed to ensure the proper stability of the implant when in situ.
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