Overview
It may surprise you to learn that dental implants have existed for decades. The first dental implants were placed around 600 A.D.
They have, nevertheless, progressed with time. If you’re considering getting a dental implant right now, you should be thankful for one thing: the surgery will be painless. On the other hand, most early methods were crude, painful, and sometimes lethal.
Here’s a check out the history of dental implants and how they’ve changed over time.
Implants in Antiquity
Bamboo pegs were carved 4,000 years ago in China and used to replace missing teeth, leading to the discovery of implants. These were affixed directly to the mouth’s bone. Then around 2000 years later, the Egyptians began cutting valuable metals and pegging them onto the jawbone similarly. Archaeologists have also discovered many skulls with elephant ivory-made transplanted, artificial teeth.
Back in 1931, Wilson Popenoe and his wife discovered the skull of a young woman in Honduras. Interestingly in that skull three lost teeth in her lower jaw had been replaced with shells. The shells were fashioned to resemble the teeth’s structure. Because of bone development, these teeth were designed for function rather than looks.
With time, dental implants have become the go-to remedy for missing teeth because of advances in technology.
How Have Dental Implants Changed Over Time?
Dental implants were first created in the 18th century using a blend of gold and metal. Unfortunately, these trials were a resounding failure, but they set the path for future research that will be more beneficial.
In the 1800s, dental doctors used various materials, including silver and porcelain. One doctor used a porcelain implant with a platinum disc. These efforts, however, were in vain since the bone rejected all of the elements used. A successful implant is permanently fused to the jawbone.
Many doctors experimented with various materials throughout the 1900s, but none yielded long-term results.
When Did Dental Implants Become Popular?
Dr. Per-Ingvar Brnemark unintentionally discovered that titanium implants had a higher success rate in 1952, laying the groundwork for modern-day dental implants. He placed a titanium piece into the femur of a rabbit and could not remove it because the titanium had bonded with the bone.
After extensive testing, he used titanium to replace a lost tooth in one of his patients, and it was a success. For the dental implant industry, this was a tremendous stride forward. He then wrote other studies confirming the benefits of titanium in dental implants. Thanks to Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark, dental implants have improved with time and are today what they are.
Present Day Implants
Titanium has been utilized to produce dental implants since its discovery by Dr. Per-Ingvar Brnemark. On top of millions of other implants from newer firms, almost seven million implants from the Branemark System have been transplanted.
Dental implants are still made of high-grade titanium and fashioned so that they can be securely attached to the jawbone. Despite the hazards, this is still the best and most successful method of implant placement.
