Dental Implants
Titanium is the primary material used in dental implants and other dental applications. It offers the high strength and bio-compatibility needed to ensure longevity of the dental implant.
Dental implants are the metal root of teeth that are used to hold in place tooth restorations and they are used to hold a single tooth in place or to build a root frame from which several teeth will be placed. Most dental implants placed today are root-form type implants where the frame takes on the natural shape of the tooth root to as to provide a natural and well formed implant. These implants are also known as endosseous implants and are made from titanium, typicall starting out as titanium bars and sheets and undergoing further engineering to produce the finished shape.
Before the development of the 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. Titanium dental implants can be used to support a number of dental prostheses, including crowns, implant-supported bridges or dentures.
Titanium was first used in the dentistry industry in the mid 1940’s and has now become routinely used in the dental industry for both titanium implants and titanium orthodontic braces. The titanium implant acts as an artificial root for a tooth and is securely implanted into bone to provide a solid base for a tooth. Compared to traditional orthodontic braces made of steel, titanium braces are stronger, lighter, and more compatible to body fluids and bone density.
Titanium has been selected a metal of choice in the dental market due to its total resistance to attack by body fluids, high strength and low modulus.