Henri Léger-Dorez: The First Expandable Implant (1912)

In the early 1900s, various authors worked on "artificial roots" to replace missing teeth. E. J. Greenfield's pioneering works (1910-1913) are among the best-known today and are often cited in publications reviewing the history of oral implantology. Shortly after Greenfield's first communications in the scientific literature, a French dental surgeon, Henri Léger-Dorez, designed the first expanding dental implant, which he indicated was used successfully in cases of single tooth edentulism. Its aim was to obtain the best primary stability and thus avoid the use of dental splint during osseous healing process. Léger-Dorez's works give us a new angle on the research in oral implantology by the pioneers of the early 20th century.