Titanium Dental Implants
While dental implants are made of a few different materials, titanium is the most commonly used material to make dental implants. Titanium is durable and highly biocompatible, helping to preserve the bone density in the jaw and providing a stable, secure implant option that is unlikely to cause any adverse reactions in the body. Titanium dental implants are surgically placed into the patient’s jawbone, where they remain firmly in place and gradually fuse together with the bones of the jaw, eventually behaving as a natural tooth root would and providing strength and durability as they support dental crows, overdentures, or other long-term dental prosthetics.
Titanium dental implants are made of a few separate components. The implant itself, which is known as either the implant post or implant fixture, is a small titanium cylinder that is surgically inserted into a small hole that has been drilled into the jawbone. The bone heals around this cylinder, anchoring the implant in place. Once the implant has fully healed, the gum tissue that has healed over its top is cut open and allowed to heal into the proper shape to support the replacement tooth. An abutment is attached to the implant; the abutment is a small fixture that screws onto the implant and attaches the dental crown to the implant post. The dental crown, which is the actual prosthetic tooth, is crafted to look and act like a natural tooth and is affixed to the abutment, which is encased and hidden by the crown.
The dental implant process requires a team of highly skilled dental practitioners, including an oral surgeon, a general dentist, and a prosthodontist, along with other dental professionals. An initial consultation will determine whether you’re a good candidate for dental implants. Most dental implant procedures require a few separate dental visits over the course of several months, allowing the patient time to heal between procedures before receiving their custom dental prosthetic and ensuring the long-term success of the implant procedure. Once the implant procedure has been completed and the mouth has fully healed, patients can enjoy a wide variety of foods and can speak, eat, and smile comfortably, just as they would with natural, healthy teeth. Titanium implants also stimulate the health and growth of the bone, helping to maintain the structure and appearance of the jaw and lower face and providing a strong foundation for permanent dental replacements.
The biocompatibility of titanium was initially discovered in 1952 by a Swedish scientist named Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark. Dr. Branemark noted that titanium bonded with bone particularly well, and, since this discovery, medical professionals have chosen titanium for dental implants as well as knee and joint replacements and cranial and facial prostheses. In addition to fusing well with bone, titanium is nontoxic and nonallergenic, meaning that it has no adverse effects on the body, and it is also resistant to corrosion. Titanium is lightweight, fracture-resistant, and stronger than steel, and titanium implants can expect to remain successfully in place for at least 30 years or longer. All of these factors make titanium an excellent choice for dental implants as well as other medical uses.