Dental Implants: A brief history

The joy on Sam's face after biting into an apple for the first time in fifteen years was priceless.

"I've been wanting to do that for years!" he exclaimed from my dental chair, holding a bag of Granny Smith apples.

Sam's experience is not unique. Over the last few decades, dental implants have transformed the lives of those with missing teeth, offering a solution that goes beyond ill-fitting dentures. Initially pioneered by Swedish Professor Branemark in the 1960s, dental implants involve a titanium screw acting as an artificial tooth root, providing a stable foundation for replacement teeth.

Traditionally performed in dental hospitals, advancements in the procedure and dentist training since the 1990s have made this treatment widely available in dental practices. Refinements in implant design have significantly reduced healing times. Steps which once took six months can now sometimes be accomplished in a single appointment.

Previously, missing teeth meant choosing between removable dentures or drilling down teeth for a bridge. Dentures, often cumbersome and embarrassing, interfered with eating, taste and daily life. Dental implants revolutionised this by securing dentures with press-stud attachments or clips, enhancing stability, confidence and enjoyment of food again.

With enough implants, dentures can be entirely replaced with permanently fixed teeth, offering improved chewing efficiency and confidence. In some cases, decayed teeth can be replaced with implants, providing a new set of teeth in a single day! This procedure is performed under sedation making the whole process go very quickly for the patient and when they ‘come round’ they have a new set of perfect teeth.

Currently, dental implants are the gold standard, providing life-enhancing treatments like Sam's. Looking forward, it remains to be seen what advancements will surpass implants as the go-to solution for tooth replacement.

Dr Matt Rose, restorative dentist - The Implant Centre

Explore dental implants further by watching some of the videos below