Use of PMMA in expansion dental implants.

The Polymer Expansion Implant System, which is a system for the substitution of missing dental roots in natural or surgical alveolus, has been developed by the author. The polymer used is poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). A material is sought that has three of the basic physical and mechanical qualities of human dentine: low modulus of elasticity, thermal and electrical passiveness, and ideal porosity. In addition it should be resistant, easily worked, biocompatible, and of low cost. Of the biomedical polymers, PMMA has these qualities, and it can be used as a substitute for dental roots. The design of bodies to be implanted as substitutes for dental roots requires: anatomical measurements of the maxilla and sockets; methods of retention by the bone tissue; and methods of insertion. The formation of lamina dura around an implanted body is a reply of the organism to the forces acting on it and a demonstration of the good interaction of the porosity of the material, the peri-implant collagenous fibers and bone. X-rays that demonstrate the behavior of bone to a PMMA implant are shown.