The History of Dental Implants
While dental implants were first used in ancient cultures like the Maya, they fell out of use and were not rediscovered until 1951. Ancient dental implants were made from shell or bone, and were embedded in the gums to replace missing teeth. Modern methods for dental implantation were discovered, by accident, by the orthopedic surgeon Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark.
Dr. Brånemark and his team were working in a university laboratory, studying the healing of bones being done at the microscopic level. Titanium cased microscopes were attached to the bones being studied, with the plan to remove them once the study was finished. However, when it came time to remove the titanium, Dr. Brånemark found that the metal and bone had fused together, in a process he named osseointegration.
He realized the importance of this discovery, and quickly began to research how it could be used. Using titanium screws to anchor dental appliances proved to work great. Other researchers had used other metals, including silver and gold, for dental implants but had all failed. Titanium is the only metal that can bond strongly with bone, making it the only one suitable for dental implants. The first commercial implants were installed in the early 1980s.
Tags: Dental Implants, History