Subject(s)
Dental Abutments , Dental Implants , Dental Prosthesis Design , Tooth , Biomechanical Phenomena , Dental Abutments/history , Dental Implantation, Endosseous/history , Dental Implants/history , Dental Implants, Single-Tooth/history , Dental Prosthesis Design/history , Dental Restoration Failure , Esthetics, Dental , History, 20th Century , Humans , Patient Care Planning , Risk Factors , Stress, MechanicalABSTRACT
Significant contributions by clinicians, researchers, and manufacturers have brought us to a previously almost unimaginable point in time, where it is possible to place and restore a single dental implant in the esthetic zone with a success rate above 96% and with the probability that it will look very much like a natural tooth. In addition, in select cases it is possible to do the extraction, implant placement, and provisional restoration on the same day. There is very little trauma at the implant site, which results in greater comfort for the patient and ultimately greater tissue preservation long-term. We have now observed single-tooth anterior implant cases for 15 years and have every belief that these implants will continue to function in health for many years. So what is next? We will have to wait and see, but it is this clinician's hope that the next 15 years will bring us more of these cooperative efforts that have so dramatically improved our patients' lives.
