I've been a caretaker of an elderly woman with dementia for over two years. I've seen the effects of this mental affliction, and how devastating it can be to loved ones. This is why I am a firm believer in seeking a professional diagnosis, so the patient may receive necessary care and treatment. Once diagnosed at the onset of symptoms, a plan can be devised. Through social interaction and daily care, my charge has achieved a higher quality of life. If your loved one has been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, you can make a difference. Love will find a way.
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Dementia and Your Loved One
3 Facts About The History Of Dental Implants That May Ease Your Worries About Getting Yours
Vickie Armstrong
If you are considering dental implants or have already scheduled a procedure, then you may have worries running through your mind about the procedure, and that is completely normal. It may help ease your mind to hear a few facts about the history of dental implants and just how long this "new" technology has been around to be mastered.
1. The American Academy of Implant Dentistry Was Started Many Decades Ago
The fact that the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, or AAID, was formed in 1951 just may shock you. While many people today think of dental implants as new technology, implant dentistry has been around for over 60 years.
Of course, techniques and materials used in implant dentistry have changed immensely over the years. The fact that implants have been studied and perfected over such a long period of time may make you feel a bit more secure about the fact that dental professionals really know what they are doing after having so long to perfect implant dentistry.
2. Osseointegration of Implant Posts Was Discovered in 1952
Just a year after the AAID was formed, osseointegration of implant posts was invented. A dental researcher was simply experimenting to see how jawbone healed, and he realized that a titanium cylinder he had placed in a jaw had become irremovable, like the jaw had accepted it as its own.
This is why titanium is still used in dental implants today, and if that one experiment had been performed with different type of metal or material, then modern titanium-post dental implants may never had been invented.
3. Bone Grafting Has Been Around for Centuries
Bone grafting sometimes has to be performed before a dental implant is placed if there is not enough natural bone left to hold onto the new dental implant. For many people getting implants, this can seem like the scariest part of the procedure. Bone grafting is actually nowhere near a new thing, and it was believed to have first been performed in the 1600s.
Back then, the grafting may have been performed by taking bone from an animal, but as grafting evolved, it was soon discovered that transplanting bone from one part of a person's body to another part (like their jaw) was a better idea. This is called autografting, and has successfully been performed and mastered over the last couple of centuries.
So, if your implant surgeon decides you need a bone graft before implant placement, remember that bone grafting has been being perfected for centuries and is nothing to be afraid of.
While dental implants are thought of as "new technology" it is really only the specific materials and techniques that are relatively new. You have nothing to worry about with today's dental implant technology. For more information about implants, visit Peter J. Kaufman, DMD.
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