Per-Ingvar Branemark
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Deceased

Per-Ingvar Branemark studied at Lund University in Sweden. In 1969 he became professor of Anatomy at Gothenburg University. It was there that his major work on osseointegration took place, having been based on studies of bone and marrow tissue vascular systems, together with the evaluation of the surgical technique’s effect on bone tissue’s ability to regenerate and remodel in relation to preparation trauma and functional load.

Branemark discovered that pure titanium did not induce any severe inflammatory or other reaction in skin or bone tissues a factor important for external prosthesis connection such as for craniofacial rehabilitation. Crucially he found that skeletal anchorage of a prosthesis requires that relative movements between the implant and anchoring tissue should be avoided. In addition, the anchoring bone has to be loaded in such a way that it remodels adequately to provide a stable anchorage platform.

Branemark has many awards and prizes for his work. He won the coveted Swedish Society of Medicine’s Soederberg Prize in 1992 – often referred to as the ‘mini-Nobel’ – and the Swedish Engineering Academy’s equally prestigious medal for technical innovation.

Outside Sweden, he has been honored with Harvard School of Dental Medicine Medal for his dental implant work in the US and holds more than 30 honorary positions throughout Europe and North America, including Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of Medicine in the UK.