Date of Award
Fall 2006
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Dentistry
First Advisor
Iacopino, Anthony
Second Advisor
Fournelle, Raymond
Third Advisor
Toth, Jeffrey
Abstract
In the 37 years since the concept of Osseointegration was first applied to human patients, there have been many advances in the understanding and application of implant dentistry as a method for the replacement of missing teeth. Osseointegration as first defined by Branemark is a direct structural and functional connection between ordered living bone and the surface of a load carrying implant at the light microscopic level.1 Dental implantology is considered one of the fastest growing treatment areas within dentistry and concerns the placement of mechanical substructures into the tooth-supporting bone of the jaws. The development of dental implants was a watershed event that forever changed the way dentists view their options when confronted with a patient requiring tooth replacement. While dental implant treatment was considered optional for many years prior to Branemark's work, it is now a major focus of didactic and clinical education in three dental specialties (Prosthodontics, Periodontics, and Oral Surgery). Dental implants are shaped cylinders machined from commercially pure titanium...