A history of implant dentistry (Kirk Donaldson DDS MS)

A little history:

I (Kirk Donaldson DDS MS) have participated in implant dentistry since the current styles were first introduced to North America in 1982. As a graduate student at the University of Michigan, I listened to the Swiss research team present their material to U of M. They wanted Ann Arbor to become THE implant center in North America. U of M was apprehensive because implants had a bad history. Toronto took up the Swiss on their offer and most of the patient studies came from there for years.

As implants became available to the general public, Brannemark’s system was considered the gold standard. They are now owned by Nobelpharma. For historical reasons many dentists still cling to this “godfather” company. I still use them when patients come to my practice from an oral surgeon that still uses the system. Personally, I prefer and use the Biohorizons Implant system. They have the highest level of bone healing and maintenance around the implants. Plus, I can get consistently nice looking gums around them; it’s a joy to use.

There are many good systems out there. I prefer to use a few systems very well and don’t experiment with every new variation until I see some good research that shows significant improvement.