Implant Dentistry is that area of dental care devoted to the placement and restoration of dental implants. It's a new dental science and there's a lot of controversy and debate about who can be called an implant dentist. Oral Surgeons typically do oral surgery, but they don't do the dental work on top of implants. The same is true for periodontists who do periodontal surgery but also do not put the dental work on top of the implants. Many root canal specialists are even beginning to place implants.
The early development of Implant Dentistry was primarily by general dentists who were interested in replacing missing teeth for patients without having to make them traditional dentures. The first implants were made in garages and machine shops and were constructed with stainless steel. These older implants had a lot of problems since they did not really integrate with human bone but attached to the bone with a sling of fibrous tissue. We a a lot to their pioneering spirits but unfortunately, many of these guys were attacked for their unconventional methods.
Much of the legitimizing of Implant Dentistry was due to the research of a Swedish physician and researcher, Brandemark. While doing research on artificial joints, Dr. Brandemark noticed that his graduate students complained when they had problems removing implants from the bone when the implants were made of titanium. Apparently, the titanium metal was fusing to the bone. It was later found that bone cells liked titanium and stuck to the surface of this metal. It was undouibtably to become a groundbreaking discovery.
Dr. Mark Allan Padolsky is an Atlanta implant dentist who practices with the Atlanta Dental Group PC. He has been trained in the area of Implant Dentistry and enjoys helping patients improve their chewing and smiles using dental implant reconstruction. In addition to dental implant surgery, he is also able to design, create, and place the dental work attached to the dental implants. This allows one dentist to be in control of both phases of the implant reconstruction and often simplifies the decision making process. Patients can enjoy going to one office for their dental implant care. If you would like to schedule a free dental implant consultation with Dr. Padolsky, make your appointment by calling 404-874-7428.