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Dental implants are a real God send to people who have suffered a tooth or teeth loss. They are a great innovation in dental advances to those people that cannot get on with dentures or a bridge. They come from research carried out in the late 1950s and 60s to find materials that could be used to hold broken or fractured bone together while it knits. The best results came from Titanium which is germ resistant and very strong. The most popular type of dental implant is the Endosteal type; this can sustain one or several false teeth in situ. In order to be able to have one fitted you will need to have a strong wide jaw bone, but don`t worry most of us have one. The tests that are carried out first will involve the taking of x-rays and photos to help the surgeon determine if you qualify. The next stage will be to fit the base plate (the implant) to the jaw bone; this is done by making a small incision in the gum line and sliding the plate under it. It is fixed down using one of two available methods, either screwing it with self tappers, or attaching studs to the plate and drilling holes in the bone to slide and glue them into. The hole is stitched up and left to heal and fuse. The fusing of the plate and the jaw bone is called Osseointergration and was discovered in the original research, it can take from three to six months to complete. That done the incision is re-opened and one or more abutments are now attached to the plate, these are titanium implant poles that the actual false teeth will sit on. The teeth are made by an orthodontist out of a hard wearing ceramic, and will be very similar to the original teeth in size, shape and colour. The teeth are fitted by sliding them into place with surgical glue; the patient then gets used to them and re-adjusts their chewing habits to suit. They need no special attention or care, just the usual brushing and flossing, the usual six monthly check up will allow the dentist to keep the tartar build up down and help the teeth to keep on working fully as a normal natural molar. The teeth can be easily replaced if they become damaged during their life time, and at the end of their life with wear and tear.