History of Dental Implants
Stratford, CT
 The advancements in dental care have been improved over thousands of years, and the innovations are mainly directed to give a healthy and aesthetic look to your teeth and smile. Missing teeth cause a lowered self-esteem among people, and that is how the importance of a complete set of teeth drove the advancement of modern dental implants.
If you are getting a dental implant, be grateful for the painless and safe journey, as the history of dental implants is full of painful and brutal experiences. There was no access to anesthesia and painkillers, and the procedure was sometimes fatal because of infections and lack of hygiene.
Let's have a closer look at the evolution and history of dental implants.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are the best solution for replacing one or more missing teeth. A dental implant is not only used for aesthetic purposes but is very important for your overall dental health, as it keeps the adjacent teeth stable and reinforces your bite force. The material used in the implant is titanium, which is biocompatible and integrates with your jawbone. The non-toxic nature of the implant doesn't let the body reject it.
Ancient Attempts at Dental Implants
Dental implants have been used for tooth replacements for 4000 years, and our ancestors attempted to use a range of replacement materials, including bamboo pegs that were used to replace the missing teeth. The ancient Chinese would bind the bamboo pegs using gold wires onto the neighboring teeth in early 2500 BC.
After China, Egypt also started using precious metals to replace teeth, and one Egyptian king's mummy was found to have copper pegs as tooth replacements hammered into his jawbone.
It was a very common occurrence for archeologists to find skulls with dental implants using precious, rare gems like jade, and even the teeth of animals and enslaved people were used for these procedures.
Another case of dental implants was found, originating from 300 BC. A cadaver from a Celtic grave in France had an iron tooth hammered into its jaw. Scientists believe it was a posthumous dental implant as the pain would be excruciating for any living person.
How Has Dental Implant Technology Developed?
The human body's rejection of the foreign implant was the major challenge in developing this technology. Doctors used gold and other alloys, but all these experiments were unsuccessful.
In 1800, dental professionals started using porcelain implants mounted on platinum disks, but the jawbone rejected all of these materials.
In 1952, an orthopedic surgeon researched that a piece of titanium successfully fused with a rabbit's femur and hypothesized that titanium dental implants might have better chances of permanently fusing with the jawbone. This led to a significant breakthrough in the field, and today titanium dental implants are widely used to replace teeth due to their several benefits.
Meet the Doctors
Now that you know the history of dental implants, it is essential to find professional dentists who use quality dental implants, which minimizes the risks of bone damage and infections.
If you’re looking for a reliable place to get dental implants, our doctors and Our doctors at Brush & Floss Dental Center can help. Call us at (203) 683-5253 for more information.
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