School News :: School of Engineering

School News

  • 22 - Nov
  • 2017

UJ Professor Comes up with Innovative Design of Dental Implant

Dr. Salih Akour from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the School of Engineering came up with a new design of Dental implants.


Dental implants are replacement tooth roots. It provides a strong foundation for permanent or removable replacement dental prosthesis that is made to match natural teeth.

Dr. Akour's design has many advantages over what is available worldwide.

The Dental implant he designed, according to Akour, is self-drilling and taping, thus eliminates the need to drill and thread the bone into which the implant fixture (foundation) is to be received.

"The implant fixture constitutes grooves that have sharp edges work as cutting tool for drilling and taping the implant fixture into the jaw bone. These well designed grooves allow smooth flow for the bone removed by the self-drilling and taping process," he said.

Akour added that the body of the dental implant fixture is equipped with sharp edges that cut the bone rather than squeezing it, thus reducing the torque necessary for drilling and tapping, i.e., this makes it suitable for those who have weak bones.

"When the implant fixture is placed in jaw bone, the removed bone is trapped in the grooves so it speeds up the heeling process and provides extra contact area with jaw bone," he concluded.

Akour's new design is patented and is available in World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) / United Nations database.