On Dental Implants, From the World's Authority

"Edentulism [missing teeth] is a handicap which in many cases leads to invalidity. The loss of teeth is followed by a successive reduction in jawbone, which results in a constant deterioration in the stability of loose dentures. In addition to this tissue defect, many patients are afflicted by a severe loss of self-confidence. So, in addition to a reduction in chewing and speech function, the loss of teeth also has important effects on the patient's overall psychosocial situation.

Jawbone-anchored dental replacements based on the osseointegration [fusion and ingrowth of bone] principle, with more than 400,000 patients having been treated during a period of 30 years, result in local and total rehabilitation, where the long-term results have proven to be predictable and cost-effective. This has been achieved by using clinically documented components and methods on these patients, based on a meticulous analysis of the treatment indication. In view of the large number of totally and partially edentulous patients, it is important for the prospective patient's dentist to have a correct knowledge of the different treatment alternatives for edentulism. In the short term, general dental practitioners should be trained to enable them to give their patients satisfactory advice and information about suitable forms of treatment. In the longer term, tissue-anchored dental replacements should be included in dental training. Osseointegration as a method of oral rehabilitation is a fine example of the way interaction between research, health care and industry can lead to favourable effects for patient and society alike."

Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark,
discoverer of osseointegration
and renowned pioneer of dental implantology.

Doctor Branemark's vision
is thriving in the office of
Doctors Groh, Souviron, and Mannis.

Click here for more on dental implants.

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Last modified: October 09, 2001