Dental Implants Explained
Following amazing new developments in implant dentistry, dental implants are now a successful treatment option to replace one missing tooth, multiple missing teeth, or even a full arch without teeth. Dental implants closely resemble natural teeth in function and esthetics. They are anchored into your jaw, and they cannot move. Healthy teeth on either side of the dental implant site are not modified by this treatment.
At the Cholakis Dental Implant Centre, our periodontists or experienced restorative dentist places the implant into the bone in your jaw to replicate the root of a tooth. For most patients, a natural-looking replacement tooth can be placed on top of the dental implant that same day. If properly cared for, a dental implant can last a lifetime.
A dental implant that replaces one missing tooth has three parts: the titanium implant component, which is placed into the bone and fuses with it; the abutment, which is placed over top of the part of the implant that fits over the portion of the implant that sticks out above the gums; and the crown, which is placed on top of the abutment and looks like a beautiful, natural tooth.Â
A brief history of dental implants
Professor Brånemark (of Sweden) invented dental implants in 1952, when he experimented with a titanium implant to learn about blood flow in bone. At the end of the experiment, he learnt that the bone had fused to the implant. He called this "osseointegration," and saw potential for use in humans.
In 1965, modern implant techniques were born when Professor Brånemark treated a patient with missing teeth because of deformities to her chin and jaw with titanium dental implants.
Dental implants have been thoroughly researched, and have very high overall success rates (around 96%). Currently, there are patients who have had their dental implants for over 40 years. Dental implants are the treatment of choice for replacing missing teeth.