Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
Dental implants are surgically fixed substitutes for roots of missing teeth. Embedded in the jawbone, they act as anchors for a replacement tooth, also known as a crown, or a full set of replacement teeth.
Advertisement
This narrated animation explains what dental implants look like and how they are implanted. A representation of how bone begins to grow into and around the dental implant is shown.
Other Information
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root replacement and is used in prosthetic dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth. There are several types of dental implants. The major classifications are divided into osseointegrated implant and the fibrointegrated implant. Earlier implants, such as the subperiosteal implant and the blade implant were usually fibrointegrated , . The most widely accepted and successful implant today is the osseointegrated implant, based on the discovery by Swedish Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark that titanium can be successfully fused into bone when osteoblasts grow on and into the rough surface of the implanted titanium . This forms a structural and functional connection between the living bone and the implant. A variation on the implant procedure is the implant-supported bridge, or implant-supported denture.
Find a Qualified Specialist
Looking for a specialist?
Please enter your zip code.


