I am Titanium— Interesting Facts About Your Dental Implants

Titanium is a popular word in our practice, and it has nothing to do with Sia and David Guetta’s 2011 song by the same name. Lightweight, yet strong as steel, titanium is an alloy that can be found in jet engines, body piercings, premium lacrosse sticks —and our dental implants. Named after the Titans, the super race that ruled the world in Greek mythology, titanium is used for general medical applications including surgical devices and instruments, for joint replacements and for all sorts of stabilizing posts, plates, bars, wires and rods. Out of all possible metals, titanium is found to be the most compatible biologically.

Dental titanium implant , 3D render

Strong Support System

In implant dentistry, titanium has proven to be the perfect material. Titanium posts (on which natural-looking “teeth” are placed) substitute for natural tooth roots and fuse with living bone in a process known as osseointegration. When this important process occurs, the titanium “root” and your natural jaw bone become a strong support system for your new tooth, just like your former tooth root.

Are you one of those folks who want to know even more? The best companies, like Straumann, (we use their dental implants) fabricate their implants with tolorences measured in MICRONS (tenth of a millimeter) in totally sterile facilities. Our doctors have toured this facility and report that it’s “an amazing experience.” Straumann spends significant amounts on research and development to ensure that they offer the best dental implant products for their patients and clinicians. Take a look at this “How It’s Made” titanium dental implant video to give you an idea of how these implant posts are actually created.