Past Present and Future of Dental Implants

The elusive dream of replacing missing teeth with artificial analogs has been part of dentistry for a thousand years. Becker reviewed the simple and naďve ancient artificial anchoring of dental units in the maxilla and mandible, which indicated the constant need for restoring function and esthetics by any means. However; it was not until the 1960s that the scientific foundation of modern implant dentistry was set. The coincidental discovery by Dr P-I Brĺnemark and his coworkers of the tenacious affinity between living bone and titanium oxides, termed osseointegration, propelled dentistry into a new age of reconstructive dentistry. Major advances have occurred over the last 3 decades in the clinical use of oral and maxillofacial implants. Statistics on the use of dental implants estimated that about 100,000 to 300,000 dental implants are placed per year.3Although, oral implants have improved the lives of millions of patients, fundamental information relating implant characteristics, and clinical performance is often lacking. More than 220 implant brands, produced by 80 different manufacturers, have been identified. Considering the variety of materials, surface treatments, shapes.