Dental Implant

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that are placed in a bone where they can integrate with the surrounding tissue and support a replacement tooth or a series of teeth. Dental implants are placed in patients with missing or damaged teeth to provide artificial teeth that closely resemble natural teeth. Dental implants may also be used to rehabilitate a partially or fully edentulous (toothless) jaw. Dental implants are designed to function indefinitely and last a lifetime. They are typically made of pure titanium and are available in two different shapes: cylinder and screw-type. Both designs feature a threaded shaft that is placed into the bone in a tooth socket. Once the bone has healed around the implant, a new tooth is attached to the implant. Both dental implants and natural teeth are composed of a biological and mechanical component. The biological component includes the supporting tissue of the jaw bone and the gingival tissue surrounding the tooth. The supporting tissue is known as the alveolar bone. The tooth itself includes a dentin layer and a thin layer of enamel, and an underlying layer of the cementum which covers the dentin layer. The dentin layer and enamel are covered by a thin layer of gum tissue, which, when removed, exposes the underlying dentin layer.