How Technology is Shaping the Future of Dental Implants
Rethinking dental care through modern technological innovations
The future of dental implants looks very promising. In the United States, over 100 million people are missing at least one tooth. According to Population Reference Bureau, the number of baby boomers is projected to double from 46 million to over 98 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group will rise from 15 percent to nearly 24 percent. With increased awareness among the aged population about the benefits of dental implants, Implant market is expected to reach an estimated $9.8 billion by 2022, and it is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2017 to 2022.
Dental implants are extremely popular in the market today because they are the only permanent solution to missing teeth. But with high cost of the procedures, patients are delaying dental care or looking for short-term affordable options. In the next few years, with modern technology and advanced clinical procedures, we will see improved diagnostic care, precision in treatment planning, and faster healing time. Improvements in implant failure rate, introduction of robot-assisted dental implant surgery and 3D printing are some examples of innovations that are being deployed. These factors should reduce procedure costs and increase coverage by insurance companies.
The leading cause of implant failure is oral microbial infection. To eliminate bacterial biofilms, scientists have developed dental implants containing reservoir that slowly releases antimicrobial agents(chlorhexidine). The implant is made of a porous titanium- silica (Ti/SiO2) composite material to allow drugs to gradually diffuse from the reservoir. As a result, bacteria can no longer form a biofilm. These implants will reduce the risk of infection and prevent implant failures in patients.
Robot-assisted dental implant surgery will soon be the standard of care for implant procedures. Neocis, a company based in Miami recently introduced Yomi, the first robotically assisted dental surgical system. Yomi’s software is used to plan an implant procedure based on a patient’s CT scan. Yomi controls the direction of the drill and assists dentists with the location, depth, and orientation of the implants. Recently, in China, a robot safely installed two dental implants in a woman by following a set of pre-programmed commands. The procedure was supervised by dentists who did not actively participate in the procedure.
Another technological impact in dentistry will be the use of 3D printing in implants. 3D printed hyperelastic bone holds a lot of promise for patients that need bone grafting for implant placement. This hyperelastic bone is a combination of bioactive materials and polymers. It can be layered while still wet, allowing for better adherence between each layer. It is more flexible than traditional grafting materials and is highly porous, allowing blood vessels to move quickly into the surgery area. These hyperplastic bone are cheap, scalable and easy to make.
It is safe to say that easier access to beautiful smile will be made possible by disruptive technological innovations. Teledentistry, 3D printed prosthetics and cloud-based practice management software promises increased efficiency, productive appointments, and better patient care. Implant dentistry has come a long way and with emerging technology, there will be greater opportunities to deliver affordable implants at higher quality and lower costs.
To see how Zentist is using technology to help dentists reduce dental implant costs visit Zentist.io.
