Thursday, May 15, 2014

An Introduction to Dental Implants

Dental implants are metallic surgical devices that are a replacement for missing or damaged teeth. There are many methods to replace missing teeth, but most people consider dental implants.

Dental Implants Cost
Advantages of dental implants
  • Implants look like natural teeth
  • Implants does not overload on adjacent teeth
  • Implants improve speaking and mastication capacity
  • Implants are fixed and long lasting.
History of implants
Transplantation of teeth made of ivory was first seen in Egyptian mummies. Dental implants have been in use since 1970. These implants are designed to eliminate the problems created by dentures and fixed bridges. In olden days dental implants were made of copper. Now a days, implants come in various shapes, such as:
  • Cylindrical implants
  • Screw implants
  • Threaded implants
  • Plateau implants and
  • Perforate implants
Types of implants
  • Autoplastic implants: These implants are prepared by taking tissue from the same individual.
  • Homoplastic implants: These implants are prepared by taking from the same species.
  • Heteroplastic implants: These implants are prepared by taking from the different species.
  • Alloplastic implants: These implants are prepared from non-living material.
Materials used for preparation of implants
Implants are prepared using different materials such as:
  • Metals: Metals used are stainless steel, titanium, vitallium, cobalt chromium, etc. Titanium is most commonly used.
  • Ceramic material: Ceramic materials like plasma are sprayed on the implants and are bio compatible with the implants.
  • Polymeric materials: Polymeric materials like polytetraflouroethylene and polymethacrylate are used for preparation of implants.
  • Poly carbons: Poly carbons like carbon and stainless steel are used for preparation of implants. These are not used because they may brittle in some cases and reduces the success rate of implants.
Mechanisms involved in the implant placements:
There are 2 mechanisms involved in the placement of implant, they are:
  • Osseointegration: It is a process that is mostly used and is a successful type of implant. This implant takes around three to six months to anchor and heal.
  • Fibrointegration: Fibrointegrated implant is an early form of dental implants which is not used today, they are not as successful as osseointergration.

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