People nowadays are much concerned about maintaining a good health and retaining their youthfulness. As a result of this, a number of treatments are being offered by the specialists to let the people realize their dreams.
Thinking about the fat reduction, dermatological and other cosmetic treatments?
Well, here we are going to discuss the dental implants. In Wellington, dental implants are also considered as a kind of option that lets the people ensure a young appearance and good oral health.
A brief history of the dental implants
The history of the dental implants does not date back to just decades but to millennia. In the ancient times, the missing dentition was substituted with the stones, ivory, shells and the teeth of humans or animals. These trends were common in all the ancient cultures including China, Turkey, Egypt, Honduras and more.
However, the metal dental replacements are an establishment that dates back to decades. Surgeons were using silver, lead, gold and platinum for dental implants in the 1800s. After that, by the mid-20th century, the new implant morphologies were developed. Then came into existence the subperiosteal implants and the blade fixtures but the infection and resorption in the case of the former one and complication rate in the latter one precluded their use.
Talking about the current dental implants which have become the standard, it is the root form implants made of titanium.
The current trends
With the increased research on the dental implant materials, designs and techniques, the use of dental implants has increased and is expected to increase further in the future. Here are the current implant trends you need to know about.
- Demand for the full-arch restorations
The advent of full-mouth and full-arch restorations is a complete game-changer for many. People are looking for the tooth replacement solutions which ensure immediate functioning, are a quick-fix and cause a minimal disturbance in patients daily activities. As the full arch restorations are known for fast healing, patients are preferring it.
- Micro casting
The micro casting technique facilitates the manufacturing of small and complex structures in the micrometer range as the metal melt can be cast into any mold, no matter how complex or small the mold is. The main advantages of this technique are the reduced cost and easy production of the identical structures.
- Computer-aided technology
Whether it is the design of the dental implants and abutments or their manufacturing, both are done using the computer-aided technology. As both the implants and abutment fabrication undergo significant metamorphosis, the CAD/CAM techniques are implemented for their designing. These techniques ensure accuracy and fast manufacturing process.
- Finite element analysis
As there is the need of analyzing the abutments, FEA has become a common thing in the implant dentistry as it allows scientists to study bone properties, implant properties and bone-implant interface. Also, it lets them understand that how to make improvements in the designs while remaining in the physiological acceptable limits.
FEA has a computerized model that is able to predict the characteristics influenced by both the biomechanical bond (formed between the implant and the bone) and implant dimensions.
- Increase in the peri-implantitis cases
This is happening because the trend of the cement-retained crown has been shifting towards screw-retained restorations. The solutions for such cases include removal of the cement-retained crowns and incorporating the screw-retained ones. The screw-retained solutions vary from single units to bridges and bars.
- Nanotechnology based implants
These trends include the modification of surface roughness at nanoscale level and aim at promoting the protein adsorption, cell adhesion, incorporation of growth factors and biomimetic calcium phosphate coatings. As nanotechnology introduces the novel methods, the research is being done on the implant production techniques based on nanotechnology.
- Platform switching
The microgap, the interface between the implant and the abutment, is subject to bacterial seeding and micromovement. And if it is below the crest of the bone, it prompts osseous resorption. Platform switching is an alternate design for two-stage implant. It is achieved by aligning a wide implant to an abutment (comparatively narrow) and eliminating the direct contact between the bone and the interface. Platform switching results in less crestal resorption and reduced vertical bone loss.
- Thread modification
The surface area of the fixture can be enhanced by increasing the thread pitch, augmenting surface roughness and altering thread morphology. That’s why the manufacturers are fabricating the implants varying in at least one of these three characteristics. For example, rather than exhibiting threads of the same size which are spaced evenly, some implants have microthreads at their coronal segments.
Most of the implants designed today feature one or more of these attributes.
It has been more than 40 years that the modern dental implants have been introduced. And the continuous research is bringing an improvement in the dental implant technology. As a result of this, the practice of implant dentistry is changing and offering unparalleled levels of convenience, effectiveness and affordability to the patients. However, still, there is the need for evaluating and understanding the correlation between different variables in order to ensure long-term success.
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