The first record of teeth implants dates back approximately 3,000 years, when Egyptians started using copper studs nailed into the jawbone, as replacement teeth after tooth loss. Further implant discoveries were made during the 1900s, when Archaeologists found that the Mayans carved shells to fashion false teeth, which were embedded into tooth sockets as early as 600AD. Citizens of Northern Italy, known as Etruscans, used human and animal teeth as substitute teeth around 700BC.
Suction-type dentures were developed by the Japanese for tooth loss in the 1500′s. Ivory turners, goldsmiths and barber surgeons also became specialists in dentistry, creating artificial teeth out of wood, ivory, and metals. By the 1770s the French, such as Alexis Duchâteau, further explored how to fix artificial teeth into the mouth and jawbone. Nicholas Dubois De Chemant was given the first British patent to supply these porcelain dentures, similar to those mounted on gold plates in London during the 1820s by Claudius Ash.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge used titanium implant posts embedded into rabbit ear chambers during the 1950s. Per Brånemark, a Swedish Orthopaedic Surgeon built on their research to study bone regeneration and healing. Although Stefano Melchiade Tramonte, an Italian medical doctor, had used titanium skrews to support artificial teeth during the 1960s, it was Per Brånemark who placed the first titanium dental implant into a human in 1965. Further research was conducted in the United States resulting in patents being fitted with titanium teeth implants by 1969.
Brånemark also published widely on Dental Implantology during the 70s and coined the term ‘osseointegration’ to describe how titanium fuses with bone. His work resulted in the Brånemark System for implants, which was developed and marketed by firms such as Nobel Biocare. Dr Leonard Linkow then pioneered research in Dentistry Implantology and began using titanium implants for people by 1992. Both root form and plate form dental implants have continued to develop since.
Current Dental Implants and Procedural Developments
Advancements in radiography and 3D CAD/CAM computer programs used to measure mouth contours and sockets for appropriate fitting of implants and prosthesis teeth, such as dental crowns, mean dental implantology is now more accurate and efficient. Use of various materials, such as zirconia, as an alternate to titanium is also being explored. Current developments in dental implant procedures are also enhancing dental implant procedures, including the new Same Day Smiles. All on 4 implants are fit at a 45 angled degree instead of vertical. As a result, four implants are used to replace part or a complete arch of teeth on either the upper or lower jaw. These new treatments reduce costs, cut down treatment length and give greater stability to replacement teeth supported by dental implants.
