Having dental implants can be quite a daunting prospect, whether you have had some traumatic accident or if there has been acidic erosion you may have to replace teeth which you have lost. Nobody wants to walk around like a witch or wild-west town drunk scaring locals with a toothless grin, but there is more to desiring dental implants than mere vanity. Many people will have difficulty eating without replacing lost teeth and as such this is a vital procedure to maintain their lifestyle. A dental implant is an artificial substitute or replacement for the root portion of your natural tooth and is securely anchored into a pre-drilled socket in your jaw-bone to support a crown, bridge or secure a denture firmly in place. Implants are made from titanium, a safe and strong material that is effeciently accepted by bone and integrates easily with bone tissue. As you will see from this picture any patient requiring this surgery will need to have bone in the jaw into which implants may be anchored, it is still possible to have dental implants if there is no bone but this will require a bone graft:

Autografts

The bone to be grafted onto the jaw is taken from your own body. This is the most successful grafting technique.

Allografts

Bone is taken from another human donor that is compatible with your body. Your body ‘converts’ the donor bone into your natural bone.

Xenografts

The bone is taken from animals, usually cows. It undergoes special processing to make it biocompatible and sterile. Over time, your body will replace this ‘filler’ bone with natural bone.

Alloplastic grafts

This is a man-made material (usually a form of calcium phosphate) that mimics natural bone. Its purpose is to stimulate the body to create enough natural bone for the placement of dental implants.
(Source: Private Healthcare UK)