Titanium Dental Implants

Dental implants are threaded “roots” of surgically pure titanium that are inserted into your jaw in order to replace any missing teeth that you may have.  They also help to provide support for individual crowns and bridges, as well as to stabilize any loose dentures.  These implants rely upon the fact that titanium has the ability to integrate with your jawbone without being rejected.  This integration process will usually take between 3 to 6 months.  Once it is complete, your final crowns or dentures can then be fitted.  This treatment process has been in use for more than 40 years because it has been proven to be clinically successful.

Titanium dental implants are usually made out of a titanium alloy that is blended together with several other types of metals.  Most commonly, titanium dental implants consist of 90% titanium, 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. 

The name of the metal, titanium, comes from ancient Greek mythology.  Herein there were the first sons of the earth, who predated both Zeus and the Olympian gods, and they were named the Titans.  Titanium is actually the ninth most abundant element to be found in the crust of the earth.  It is also found in meteorites, in the sun, in the ash of coal, in plants and it is even found within the human body.

A dental implant that has been made out of titanium is physiologically inert, meaning that it is not the least bit resistant to the human body.  Plus, titanium dental implants are also strong.  They resist any acids that may be found in your mouth, which is why they have such an excellent ability to withstand corrosion.  Titanium is also loved by the human body’s bone cells.  In fact, bone has been shown to grow onto the surface of titanium and actually reach a point where it is almost impossible to remove.  Thankfully, this lustrous white metal can be easily used to design and fabricate dental implants.

 Most people get a titanium dental implant whenever they have their surgery.  This implant is then left alone for about 6 months so that the bone can grows onto its surface and become permanently attached to the metal.  After this occurs, the top of the titanium fixture is uncovered so that a specially designed post can be inserted over the top of which a precisely constructed dental implant crown is then fitted.

It is possible for a person to have more than 1 titanium dental implant either as a part of a bridge or in order to replace several of their missing teeth.  In order to find the dentist who is best suited to do this procedure for you, it is a good idea to have a free consultation with them.  You will find that this is something that most dentists are more than happy to offer you.  This is because they want to make sure that you are a good fit for titanium dental implants before they begin your procedure.

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