Osseointegration: The Secret Behind Dental Implant Success

Listen to Dr. Fava discuss dental implants.

More than 60 years ago, a Swedish orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark, was researching bone healing and blood flow. While using a rabbit as a subject, he and his team somewhat accidentally discovered that titanium would fuse with bones and could not be removed. As a result of this discovery, Branemark coined the word “osseointegration,” from the Latin “osseus” meaning bony and “integrare,” to make whole.

The process of osseointegration entered the world of dentistry a little over a decade later when, in 1965, a titanium dental implant was placed in a human’s mouth. We still use the term osseointegration today to describe the direct connection between living bone and an artificial dental implant.

Incredibly High Success Rate

Years of periodontal placement, extensive clinical trials and research have followed, with huge inroads in the process leading to the app. 98% success rate we enjoy today. And, while titanium implants are still by far the most popular implants, forms of ceramic can also be used for the patient who may be concerned about the (incredibly rare) allergic reaction to titanium.

Branemark died in 2014 after being honored by organizations throughout the world for his incredible discovery. Today, we consider him the father of modern dental implantology, since we use tiny titanium posts to fuse with the jawbone to provide safe, strong and stable bases for our comfortable dental restorations consisting of abutment screws and replacement teeth.

At the Pennsylvania Center for Dental Implants and Periodontics, the knowledge gained by decades of experience helps us place single teeth, multiple teeth and full arch restorations. Our All-on-4™ and SameDay Smile® procedures allow us to place a full set of upper and/or lower replacement teeth, anchored by as few as four dental implants. This permanent solution feels like real teeth. The result—a beautiful, healthy smile.

For more information about dental implants and to schedule a consultation,  contact us today via our brief website questionnaire on our website homepage, or call us at 215-677-8686.