Generic Root Form Component Terminology

A n endosteal implant is an alloplastic material surgically inserted into a residual bony ridge primarily as a prosthodontic foundation.1 The prefix endo means “within,” and osteal means “bone.”2 The major subcategory of endosteal implants covered in this text are root form implants. The term endosseous also is used in the literature. Because the term osseous also indicates bone, either term is acceptable. However, endosteal, periosteal, and transosteal are preferred. Root form implants are the design most often used in restoration of the partial or completely edentulous patient. The desire has always been to replace missing teeth with something similar to a tooth. Root form implant history dates back thousands of years and includes civilizations such as the ancient Chinese, who 4000 years ago carved bamboo sticks the shape of pegs and drove them into the bone for fixed tooth replacement. The Egyptians, 2000 years ago, used precious metals in a similar method, and a skull was found in Europe with a ferrous metal tooth inserted into a skull in similar fashion. Incas from Central America took pieces of sea shells and tapped them into the bone to replace missing teeth3 (Fig. 3-1). In other words, to replace a tooth with an implant has always made sense. In reality, if the lay public was given a choice to replace a missing tooth with an implant or to grind down several adjacent teeth and connect them to a bridge to replace a missing tooth, making it harder to clean, and attempting to make the adjacent teeth look similar to the condition before their preparation, the implant would be the obvious choice. Maggiolo4 introduced the more recent history of implant dentistry in 1809 using gold in the shape of a tooth root. In 1887 Harris5 reported the use of teeth made of porcelain into which lead-coated platinum posts were fitted. Many materials were tested, and in the early 1900s Lambotte6 fabricated implants of aluminum, silver, brass, red copper, magnesium, gold, and soft steel plated with gold and nickel. He identified the corrosion of several of these metals in body tissues related to electrolytic action. The first root form design that differed significantly from the shape of a tooth root was the Greenfield latticed-cage design in 1909, made of iridoplatinum.7 The surgery was designed to use a calibrated trephine bur to maintain an inner core of bone within the implant. The implant crown was connected to the implant body with an internal attachment after several weeks. Reports indicate this implant had a modicum of success. Generic Root Form Component Terminology