Abstract :
Missing teeth can be substituted by the use of the dental implants. This treatment modality has been proven to be a gold standard for replacement of the missing tooth in the past decade. The most widely used implants in the current scenario are the osseointegrated implants with various shortcomings and the most prominent one is the lack of the periodontal ligament. To overcome this, implants with periodontal ligaments can be procured and this can be possible by the application of the tissue engineering concept along with suitable implant material. Tissue engineering has become an integral part of the periodontal therapy and its use has opened various gates in the field of dentistry. A tissue engineered periodontal ligament around the
dental implant has been introduced in the past few years and is called as ligaplant. These ligaplants has become a promising option that can provide good biological performance leading to an increased life of the prosthesis. This review article highlights the advantages of the periodontal ligament combined dental implants in comparison to the conventional implants and also the process of their procurement has been discussed.
Keyword :
Ligaplants, Implants, Tissue engineering, Periodontal ligament, Osteointegration.