The Future of Dental Implants: What Does It Look Like?
What does the future of dental implant surgery look like? It’s difficult to predict the future, but generally, the best means of inferring what the future may hold in a particular field is to look at the pace of progress in the past. Given the great advancements in dental implantology over the past few decades, we can be reasonably sure that the future will yield substantial improvements in technology, materials, and techniques, making dental implant surgery an even more advanced, reliable, and widely available solution to tooth loss than it is today.
DENTAL IMPLANT SURGERY: THEN AND NOW
Dental implant surgery has come a long ways over the past few decades. Considered experimental just 25 or 30 years ago, implant-based dental restorations have become the standard of care for tooth loss today in the eyes of most dental professionals and patients. In those early days, dental implant surgery was only available to a few ideal patients; those who were blessed with perfect health and excellent bone quality and quantity in the jaw. Since bone loss typically begins immediately after tooth loss and very few of us are in perfect health, use of implants was very limited.
Today, the vast majority of individuals who have suffered tooth loss are candidates for dental implant surgery. So what has changed? Just about everything. More reliable bone grafting materials and techniques have made it possible for oral and maxillofacial surgeons to improve bone quality and quantity in patients with bone loss. Three-dimensional imaging, computer-aided surgical planning and computer guided surgery technologies have made more precise implant placement possible. Specialized dental implants and surgical techniques have been developed that make dental implant surgery faster and less invasive. Through these and other advancements in the field of dental implantology, today’s oral and maxillofacial surgeons can offer safe, reliable dental implant treatment to scores of patients that would have once been turned away as poor candidates for dental implant surgery.
DENTAL IMPLANT SURGERY: WHAT IS STILL TO COME
Research and innovation in the field of dental implantology is an ongoing process, so we can expect to see a lot more changes in the coming years. Among the key areas in which research is focused is nanotechnology, with researchers exploring how it might be used to improve dental diagnosis, treatment and pain relief, as well as its potential uses in regeneration of cells and tissues and prevention or resolution of gum disease or infection, among many other uses currently under investigation. According to the Open Journal Of Implant Dentistry, nanotechnology can be expected to have an impact on virtually every facet of dental implantology.
While no one can know for sure exactly what the future holds, we can be pretty sure about one thing; dental implant surgery will see continued advancements in terms of materials, technology and techniques. Judging by the amount of research underway and its long track record of forward progress, we can also expect that dental implants will become even more reliable and long-lasting than they are today, and it’s quite likely that the small percentage of people who aren’t good candidates for today’s dental implant surgery will be able to be helped to a brilliant new smile in the very near future.