Short Implants and Early Brånemark Team Developments: Heritage Established at the Outset

Per-Ingvar Branemark’s observation of bone fusing to a titanium surface in 1959 led to early evaluation as potential anchorage within bone for both loadbearing and passive prosthetic applications. Simultaneous research investigations within orthopedic, hand, ENT, and plastic surgery were all parallel to applications within dentistry and specialties for intraoral and extraoral maxillofacial anchorage solution potential. For the patient with unsolvable denture problems due to a highly resorbed maxilla and/or mandible, rehabilitation with a fixed, fully implant supported restoration was established in the 1970s as a routine treatment [1] (Fig. 3.1).