Many people think dental implants are a relatively new thing, but they’re not. Dental implants first began being used in the U.S. in the 70s, right there with bell-bottoms, polyester shirts, and platform shoes. Fortunately, only the dental implants endured!
Implants go way back
Attempts have been made to replace missing teeth far longer than Donna Summer was singing. Dental implants have been tried as far back as humans were using technology.
The earliest dental implants can be found in the Mayan civilization dating back to 600 A.D. Archeologists have found ancient skulls where missing teeth have been replaced with a variety of materials ranging from carved stones such as jade to fragments of seashells. And despite how that sounds, many of those early implants actually fused into the jawbone!
Modern implants
As for the modern implant, its history can be traced back to 1952. Swedish orthopedic surgeon Per-Ingvar Branemark was studying bone healing and regeneration. Seeking to help mend a broken tibia in a rabbit, he inserted a titanium screw to help support the bone but found that when he tried to remove the screw later the bone had fully grown around it and it couldn’t be removed. This property that titanium has of fusing with the bone is called osseointegration and is the basis of the modern dental implant. A decade of research followed, and the modern dental implant debuted in 1965.
Here are some other facts about the amazing prevalence of missing teeth and their replacement, dental implants:
- An estimated 69% of Americans aged 35 to 44 have at least one missing tooth.
- 25% of Americans over age 74 have lost all of their natural teeth.
- Once in place, implants function like a natural tooth, transferring the energy from biting and chewing down into the jawbone beneath the artificial tooth. This stimulation is responsible for the jawbone continually renewing itself, a process that prevents bone loss.
- Implants can also be used to anchor partial or complete dentures.
- Implants now have a 98% success rate.
If you’re missing a tooth or a few teeth, they need to be replaced and the best option is dental implants. Call the team at Pound Ridge Cosmetic Dentistry, (914) 764-3540, to make an appointment.
