Park Ridge Dentists Explore the Historical Record of Teeth Replacement

The art and science of tooth care has existed for as long as humans have had teeth, albeit in a much more primitive form than you may be used to. It should be no surprise that replacing lost teeth, which are required for you to eat properly, has long been a focus of the dental arts, and the historical record shows ample evidence of early attempts at teeth replacement. As implant dentists in Park Ridge, Dr. Maria and Dr. Thanasi Loukas are experts at custom-crafting and fitting replacements for patients who’ve lost one or more teeth. Today, they offer a glimpse at the history that led to today’s lifelike dental prosthetics.

Replacement Teeth in History

• Even early dental craftsmen must have realized that nature’s own design for our teeth was the most efficient. Some of the earliest attempts to replace teeth involved dentures made from the teeth of animals and other humans, which were first crafted by the Etruscans of ancient Italy around 700 BC. These dentures deteriorated rather quickly, but since they were easy to obtain, their popularity lasted until the 19^th century.
• In 1931, the excavation of an ancient Mayan burial site in Honduras unearthed the fragment of a lower jaw that contained three tooth-shaped shells in place of three missing incisors. Decades later, a series of radiographs and other tests unveiled compacted jawbone formation around the shells, similar to the process by which your jawbone fuses to modern titanium dental implants.
• Around the mid-16^th century, the first useful dentures were made in Japan. They were crafted from wood and resembled the suction-retained design of today’s modern upper dentures. Around 1770, Alexis Duchâteau crafted the first set of porcelain dentures. Unfortunately for Duchâteau, his assistant, Nicholas Dubois de Chemant, received the first British patent for the innovative design in 1791.
• In 1952, Swedish surgeon, Per-Ingvar Brånemark, accidentally discovered titanium’s biocompatibility by accident. During a particular study, Brånemark inserted titanium chambers into a rabbit’s femur to study blood flow in vivo. When he tried to retrieve the chambers several months later, he found that the bone had fused to the titanium, making extraction impossible. About 13 years later, the first titanium dental implant was placed into the mouth of a human volunteer.

Learn More About Replacing Lost Teeth with Your Park Ridge Implant Dentists

Today, dental implants and lifelike replacement teeth can help your smile look and function like new after suffering tooth loss. To learn more about modern tooth replacement, schedule an appointment with your Park Ridge implant dentists by calling Loukas General Dentistry at (847) 696-1919. Located in the 60068 area, we proudly serve patients from Park Ridge and the surrounding Chicago communities.