Osseointegration
Osseointegration has enhanced the science of medical bone and joint replacement techniques as well as dental implants and improving prosthetics for amputees.
[citation needed] Osseointegration is also defined as: "the formation of a direct interface between an implant and bone, without intervening soft tissue".
[2] Applied to oral implantology, this refers to bone grown right up to the implant surface without interposed soft tissue layer.
[3][4] Bothe et al. reported that due to the elemental nature of the titanium, its strength, and its hardness, it had great potential to be used as future prosthesis material.
[10] In the mid-1970s Brånemark entered into a commercial partnership with the Swedish defense company Bofors to manufacture dental implants and the instrumentation required for their placement.
Toronto's George Zarb, a Maltese-born Canadian prosthodontist, was instrumental in bringing the concept of osseointegration to the wider world.
The 1983 Toronto Conference is generally considered to be the turning point, when finally the worldwide scientific community accepted Brånemark's work.
[11] On December 7, 2015, two Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, Bryant Jacobs and Ed Salau, became the first in America to get a percutaneous osseointegrated prosthesis.
[12] In the first stage, doctors at Salt Lake Veterans Affairs Hospital embedded a titanium stud in the femur of each patient.
[14] It was previously thought that titanium implants were retained in bone through the action of mechanical stabilization or interfacial bonding.
In short it is a process where clinically asymptomatic rigid fixation of alloplastic materials is achieved, and maintained, in bone during functional loading.
For example, implants using a screw-root form design achieve high initial mechanical stability through the action of their screws against bone.
[25] Though the osseointegrated interface becomes resistant to external shocks over time, it may be damaged by prolonged adverse stimuli and overload, which may cause implant failure.
[27][28] In studies done using "Mini dental implants," it was noted that the absence of micromotion at the bone-implant interface was needed to enable proper osseointegration.
The porous bone-like properties of the metal foam contribute to extensive bone infiltration, allowing osteoblast activity to take place.
[37] It is also unreliable in determining the osseointegration potential of a bone region, as tests have yielded that a rotating implant can go on to be successfully integrated.
[37] A resonance frequency analyzer device prompts vibrations in a small metal rod temporarily attached to the implant.
[42] Recent research on users of bone-anchored upper and lower limb prostheses showed that this osseoperception is not only mediated by mechanoreceptors but also by auditory receptors.
