A dental implant is a "root" device, usually made of titanium, used in dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth to replace missing teeth.
Virtually all dental implants placed today are root-form endosseous implants, i.e., they appear similar to an actual tooth root (and thus possess a "root-form") and are placed within the bone (endo- being the Greek prefix for "in" and osseous referring to "bone"). The bone of the jaw accepts and osseointegrates with the titanium post. Osseointegration refers to the fusion of the implant surface with the surrounding bone. Dental implants will fuse with bone; however, they lack the periodontal ligament, so they will feel slightly different from natural teeth during chewing.
What Types of Prostheses are Available?
A single prosthesis (crown) is used to replace one missing tooth each prosthetic tooth attaches to its own implant (figure 8). A fixed partial prosthesis (bridge) can replace two or more teeth and may require several implants (figure 9). A complete dental prosthesis replaces all of the teeth in either the upper or lower jaws. The number of implants required varies depending upon the type of complete prosthesis recommended and the quality of the available bone. A removable complete prosthesis (overdenture, figure 10) attaches to a bar or ball/socket attachment, whereas a fixed complete prosthesis (figure 11) is permanently screwed into the implants and is removed only by your dentist.