Believe it or not, the history of dental implants goes back as far as thousands of years. Archeologists have discovered ancient Chinese remains with tooth replacements made from bamboo and hammered into the bone—and the remains are 4,000 years old! Some 2,000-year-old Egyptian mummies have been found with implants of precious metals, ivory, and even human teeth. And Mayan remains have been discovered from 600 AD with missing teeth replaced by pieces of seashell. Even with their limited knowledge of science and archaic methods, many of these ancient “implants” were actually found to have fused with the bone.
Ever since humankind has been losing teeth, we’ve been looking for ways to replace them.
The first modern dental implants were developed in the 1950s, when a Swedish doctor was studying bone regrowth in rabbits and found that he was unable to remove a piece of titanium metal in the rabbit’s femur. This led to the discovery that titanium has special properties which allow it to actually fuse with bone.
With the ability to fuse metal to bone, a host of possibilities opened up for dental patients with missing teeth. While dentures eventually lead to bone loss, retain bone structure and oral health. Modern dental implants have been changing lives for decades—and we think they look a lot nicer than bamboo or fragmented seashells!
Interested in dental implant procedures? Contact Dobro Dental Implants to schedule an appointment. We provide experienced aesthetic, cosmetic and restorative dentistry services.
Contact Dobro Dental Implants:303-321-8400