Though today’s dental implants boast an extremely high success rate (95 percent, even after ten years!), they didn’t always last this long. Here’s a closer look at the long, storied history of dental implants, and how their early predecessors helped shape what are now the durable, lifelike prosthetics you know and love today!
The Beginning
The first iterations of dental implants were developed in China around 600 A.D. Initially, they were made of hand-carved bamboo pegs that were attached to the jaw. Years later in 1000 B.C., the Egyptians attempted a similar procedure but instead used precious metals, jade, and ivory. Unfortunately, while they looked pretty, they were never able to successfully attach to the jawbone and ultimately failed.
Over the next few centuries, many more attempts were made to successfully create a dental implant. From 1500 to 1800, European doctors used materials like gold and porcelain but were unsuccessful. Finally, in the 1900s two brothers named Dr. Moses and Dr. Alvin Strock used a metal known as vitallium which was used in hip replacements to launch the modern-day dental implant movement.
Today’s Dental Implants
By 1952, a doctor by the name of Per-Ingvar Branemark discovered that he was unable to remove a titanium implant attached to a rabbit femur because it had successfully integrated with the bone. By 1965, Dr. Branemark had installed a titanium implant to a human patient.
In 1982, Dr. Branemark’s work was widely recognized, and by the 1990s, he had developed a zygomatic implant. This helped patients who had significant bone loss in their maxilla and needed their implant to be placed somewhere else to ensure proper osseointegration.
Today, titanium implants are still widely used, and further advancements have been made since Dr. Branemarks initial findings. These include the use of CT scans to help plan implant locations, bone graft procedures, 3D printing and even robot-assisted surgeries.
If you’ll be getting dental implants, you can rest assured that your implants are the culmination of centuries of research, trial and error, and medical innovation. Today’s prosthetics are safer, more lifelike, and more durable than ever before, ensuring that your newly restored smile will last a lifetime.
About Dr. Hong
Dr. Joshua Hong earned his BS in Biology from the University of Arizona and his dental degree from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco. He attended post-graduate school for non-surgical TMJ therapy, full-mouth reconstruction, occlusion, and adhesive dentistry through the Foundation of Advanced Continuing Education (FACE).
If you’d like to learn more about dental implants and how this dynamic, time-tested treatment can restore your smile, please schedule a consultation with Dr. Hong today by visiting our website or calling us at 623-925-8822.