Believe it or not, every dental implant today owes its success to an 18th-century Cockney rooster.
It's a strange twist in history. A British surgeon named John Hunter was testing the idea of tooth transplants and implanted a living tooth in a rooster's comb. To his surprise, the tooth became firmly embedded, nourished by the comb. This proved the concept – that one living tissue could be moved to another – behind bone grafting, a vital aspect of dental implant technology.
A bone graft is meant to build up bone tissue in an area of injured or diminished bone. Like Dr. Hunter's tooth, when we introduce a bone graft, it acts as a platform on which your body grows new bone tissue. This helps remove one of the most common obstacles people in Jacksonville have between themselves and a new dental implant, insufficient bone mass.
Current estimates suggest that half of all implant recipients will require some form of bone grafting. At Sandpiper Dental, our dental implants team can treat you through each step on your tooth replacement journey. But determining if you'll need a bone graft requires expert planning and a thorough understanding of the process.
How Dental Implants Work
Like your natural tooth, a dental implant has a strong foundation within your jawbone. For the dental world, it took 300 years between Dr. Hunter's rooster and the discovery of first a material your body won't reject. The answer to that conundrum was discovered in 1965 when a researcher experimenting with titanium implants observed them healing in six months. These implant precursors lasted three decades, showing that titanium would be an ideal material for dental implants.
Bone health is the next challenge, which we discover using leading-edge imaging equipment. Dr. Doan views your jawbone through 3-D cone-beam CT scans that take a continuous image while moving around your head. This produces a complete view of your entire jaw and skull, allowing her to assess if your jaw can support an implant.
Why So Many People Need Bone Grafts for Dental Implants
The National Institutes of Health has studied bone grafting, reporting that one in every four individual implants will require a bone graft. Since some patients receive numerous implants to support a replacement option like a bridge or denture, this figure translates to half of all recipients needing some attention to their bone structure.
This condition is so prevalent for a simple reason. The NIH researchers put it best. "After tooth loss, bone resorption is irreversible." In other words, lost teeth are themselves the main reason you'll need a bone graft. This is because chewing pressure conducted via tooth roots stimulates bone growth. Without it, your body begins to reabsorb bone mass, and the longer your teeth have been missing, the more extensive that loss will be.
Common Types of Bone Grafts
One of the most common ways dentists apply bone grafts is into an empty socket after losing a tooth. This bone material grows into this space to maintain your jaw's thickness. This type of graft is most effective when placed right after a tooth extraction, and where several adjacent teeth are lost, this approach can thicken a longer section of bone.
When your dental implant's location is on your upper arch, the artificial root may be too near your nasal cavity and be in danger of piercing your sinus. To prevent this, your dentist can perform a sinus lift procedure. This technique involves placing bone tissue to form a bump that protrudes a short way into the sinus. When healed, this bump creates extra bone tissue to anchor your implant root without damaging any nasal passages.
Your Role in Ensuring Implant Longevity
The most significant factor in ensuring a long life for your dental implant is you. Bone health is vital to your artificial root, so you'll want to eat bone-healthy foods and consume lots of crunchy things like raw veggies and nuts, stimulating bone regeneration through chewing pressure.
Another threat to dental implants is the bacteria that cause tooth decay, which may also attack your gums and jaw. A mouth free from infection is a benefit for your overall well-being. So, we recommend you establish an effective daily oral health routine, brushing twice and flossing, and drinking plenty of water, which serves to rinse away bacteria between meals.
You also should maintain regular dental checkups and teeth cleaning so we can monitor and maintain your implant restoration and the surrounding tissues.
Tooth Implant Dentist for Long-Term Tooth Replacement in Jacksonville, FL
Dental implants have an interesting history that has culminated in one of the most effective tooth replacement options available today.
Dr. Doan and her team want you to know that missing teeth have a solution that can last for decades or longer. So we encourage you to give us a call and set up a consultation to learn if dental implants are right for you.