What is Dental Implantology?
Dental implantology is the field of dentistry that is concerned with the replacement of missing teeth and their supporting structures with artificial prostheses anchored to the jawbone.
Tooth loss can cause patients various problems, both functionally and psychologically, having a significant impact on their quality of life. When a natural tooth is lost, many patients find that it impacts their self-esteem, making smiling, laughing, and eating in public more challenging. Particularly when multiple teeth are missing, eating can become so difficult that it effects nutrition in some cases. Further to this, tooth loss causes the bone to deteriorate over time, limiting options for restorative treatment down the line. Dental implantology addresses these problems with an effective, long-term solution for missing teeth.
Dental implants can be used to replace one or more missing teeth. The implant-retained prosthesis might be a crown, bridge, or full arch replacement, depending on the extent of tooth loss. Every patient is different, so it is important to have a good knowledge of dental implantology options to ensure that the right solutions are provided for each individual situation. This is true even if you do not provide all treatment options yourself, as it is important to discuss all solutions with patients to ensure informed consent.
A simple single unit implant retained crown has 4 components:
- Crown
- Abutment
- Screw
- Fixture
History of Dental Implantology
Humans have been replacing missing teeth for centuries, making dental implantology, despite its status as a modern and rapidly evolving field, far from a new concept. Evidence suggests that the earliest examples of dental implants date back to the Mayans, who used tooth-shaped fragments of shells to replace missing lower incisors as early as 600 AD.
While dental implants might seem like a marvel of modern technology, they actually have a long and winding history. As long as there have been people, there have been those unhappy about losing their teeth. To understand the dental implants, we use today in the 21st century, it's essential to explore their historical roots.
The Ancient History of Dental Implants
It might be surprising, but humans have been attempting to improve their smiles for thousands of years. Researchers have uncovered some remarkable findings about ancient dental practices:
- 2500 BC: Ancient Egyptians tried to stabilise loose teeth with gold wire or by implanting seashells into the jaw.
- 2000 BC: In China, pegs carved from bamboo were used as replacement teeth.
- 1000 BC: Copper pegs were hammered into the jawbone of an Egyptian king, though it is unclear if this was done during his lifetime or after his death.
- 500 BC: The Etruscans used gold bands to secure their teeth, while the Phoenicians utilised gold wires for stabilisation.
- 100 BC: People in various cultures replaced missing teeth with teeth from animals or slaves.
- 300 AD: The Phoenicians crafted fixed bridges using teeth carved from ivory and gold wire.
- 600 AD: The Mayans used seashells as tooth replacements, a practice first discovered in a 1931 archaeological dig.
- 800 AD: Stone implants became popular in Mayan and Honduran cultures.
Developments in Dental Implants
One of the early modern types of dental implants was the endosteal blade implant, independently developed by two groups led by Roberts in 1967. These implants consisted of thin plates inserted into bone, particularly useful for narrow anatomical structures such as posterior areas with significant bone resorption. However, due to various complications, the use of blade implants has declined in recent years.