Recent advances in dental implants

Replacement of teeth and dental implants have a long history in general dentistry services. Evidence suggests that the prehistorians used seashells, stones, and metals to replace the missing teeth dating all the back to the Egyptian civilization in 2500 BC! Fortunately, dental implants have evolved, making implantology a highly successful dentistry service.

Dental implants are unique because of its ability to achieve an ideal replacement of the lost tissue and the tooth, regardless of the injury or impact caused to the stomatognathic system. With advanced dental apparatus and dental machinery, general dentistry services have advanced to a whole new level of orthodontia.

The Zero Bone Loss Concept

To get dental implants, having enough crestal bone in the jaw to fix the implant in place is necessary. The soft thick tissues, called dentin, at the core of the tooth that connect to the gums is an important factor in preserving crestal bone stability around implants. When you lose a tooth, the gum tissue and dentin begin to shrink. So, it becomes difficult to correctly fix the implants. Moreover, this replacement is uncomfortable for the patient. The nanostructured titanium dental implants integrate with bone faster than the conventional implants, limiting the loss of dentin tissues and crestal bone.

The Digital Smile Technology

To treat patients with dental problems, understanding their needs and queries are quite crucial. At times, the patients cannot always describe their pain correctly. Hence, using laser-technology x-rays and scans determine the root cause of the patient’s oral problem and can even detect the susceptible areas for fixing dental implants. The “digital smile design” uses imaging and computer-aided design (CAD) technology in the field of dentistry and prosthodontics. They make dental restorations and other general dentistry services more curative. Today, CAD-CAM technology has evolved into 3D scans with visibility of blood vessel, nerves, and veins. This helps the dentist to know exactly where the veins and nerves are situated under the soft tissues, avoiding discomfort and excess bleeding during the surgery. These 3D scans can also be downloaded and sent for 3D printing, making dental implant procedures more accurate and efficient for the dentist and the patient.

The Morphological Variation

A morphological variation is a chemical variation of the implant surfaces. The macro and microstructure of the implant with an abutment connection react differently to smooth and rough surfaces. The newly designed Endosseous dental implants are available with prefabricated surface characteristics for a more customized dental implant.

The New Zirconia Implants

Some individuals develop an allergy from titanium implants. Although, titanium fuses with bone faster than any element, in certain people titanium can cause a chemical-biological interaction like tissue discoloration, allergic reaction, etc. To avoid such complications, another element was introduced to implantology that could act as an alternative to titanium for those who are allergic to it. Zirconia, known for its biocompatibility, functions precisely like titanium implants. It feels like ceramic but functions like titanium making it the closest match to the structure of a tooth.

The latest clinical trial about applying a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) on bone formation around dental implants is being conducted. With new scientific research and clinical trials happening, new painless procedures and faster recovery treatments are being invented. We can only think of what’s the future of dental implants!