Topic of the Day: Dental implants
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root used in dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth.
Virtually all dental implants placed today are root-form endosseous implants. In other words, virtually all dental implants placed in the 21st century appear similar to an actual tooth root (and thus possess a "root-form") and are placed within the bone (end- being the Greek prefix for "in" and osseous referring to "bone").
Prior to the advent of root-form endosseous implants, most implants were either blade endosseous implants, in that the shape of the metal piece placed within the bone resembled a flat blade, or subperiosteal implants, in which a framework was constructed to lie upon and was attached with screws to the exposed bone of the jaws.
Dental implants can be used to support a number of dental prostheses, including crowns, implant-supported bridges or dentures.
