This Wiki addresses issues, news, visions and opinions about the exciting world of Implant Dentistry. This sub-specialty of dentistry can offer dramatically new treatment options for patients, which may not only improve the predictability and quality, but also the overall comfort level of the treatment rendered.

Implant Dentistry is not an "officially" recognized specialty by the American Dental Association. However, with over 50 journals dedicated to this field world wide, countless of academies and organizations focusing on it and owning the title as one of the fastest advancing fields of Dentistry, I think it almost deserves to be looked upon as a specialty. Regardless, Implant Dentistry encompasses both the surgical aspect as well as the restorative aspect of the entire dental implant process. In other words, surgery and implant tooth.

It all started with a rabbit! In 1952, Prof. Per-Ingvar Branemark of Sweden conducted an experiment where he utilized a titanium implant chamber to study blood flow in rabbit bone. At the conclusion of the experiment, when it became time to remove the titanium chambers from the bone, he discovered that the bone had integrated so completely with the implant that the chamber could not be removed. Branemark called the discovery "osseointegration," and saw the possibilities for human use. The procedure was first implemented in dentistry for fixation of teeth and now also is used for cranial and maxillofacial reconstruction as well.
This discovery led to the design of today’s cylindrical titanium implants. There are a variety of dental implants which were (and sometimes still are used) that are not cylindrical. Other implant types include Blade Implants, Subperiosteal Implants and Blade Implants. Each of these implants had their place and time in history, but can still find their applications today in certain circumstances. The most frequently used implant today, however is the “rootform” or “cylindrical implant, because it closely mimicks the shape of a single tooth root. The modern implant actually consists of three parts:

• The implant fixture
• The abutment
• The crown

Typically, these three parts come together in two different stages: The surgical stage and the prosthetic stage, which is usually scheduled several months later, in order to give the implant time to integrate into the bone. A growing body of evidence however supports the concept of “immediate” loading of freshly placed dental implants, meaning a restoration (either a temporary or a definite restoration) can be connected to the implant immediately after it is placed into the bone. Whether this is a feasible option, will largely depend on your bone quality and the initial stability of the dental implant.Applications Dental Implants can be used for a variety of applications:

• Single tooth replacements
• Multiple tooth replacements
• Fixed full-arch reconstructions (Denture Replacements)
• Removable full-arch reconstruction
• Denture Stabilization
• Orthodontics

For a more complete website on Implant Dentistry, you can go to Robert Gougaloff 's website at: http://robertgougaloff.netdds.net/, or join his blog at: http://robertgougaloff.wordpress.com/.

I encourage all readers to participate and post questions and/or opinions, as well as their own experiences and expertises.