Brånemark System
This is the implant that started the field. It is no longer listed among Nobel's current Canadian range, so this page is written mainly for the many people who already have one, and for anyone curious about where all of this came from.
At a glance
- Connection
- External hex, a six-sided post on top of the implant
- First human patient
- 1965
- Commercial launch
- Early 1980s
- Current Canadian status
- Not listed among Nobel's current systems
- Installed base
- Enormous, worldwide, over four decades
- Evidence
- Follow-up measured in decades, not years
Where implant dentistry came from
Per-Ingvar Brånemark's titanium chamber fused to a rabbit's bone in 1952. In 1965 he placed titanium implants in Gösta Larsson, who kept them for the rest of his life. Commercial production followed in the early 1980s, and the resulting studies, Adell and colleagues' fifteen-year follow-up among them, established that this worked and could be relied upon.
Every implant on this website exists because of that work. The external hex connection was the original solution to joining an abutment to an implant, and it remained essentially unchanged for decades.
If you have one
If you have a Brånemark System implant placed in the 1990s and it is healthy, that is not a problem to be solved. It is an implant doing exactly what it was designed to do, and this design has the longest documented service life in dentistry. Do not let anyone talk you into replacing a functioning implant because a newer connection exists.
What matters is components. External hex parts remain widely available, the design was used industry-wide for decades and many manufacturers made compatible components, so restorative work is generally straightforward. Get the platform and reference number recorded if you can.
Why the industry moved on
An external hex sits on top of the implant, so the joint is above the implant body and the connection is shorter. Internal connections, and particularly conical ones, seat deeper, distribute chewing forces further down, and seal more tightly against bacteria. Those are real improvements. They do not retroactively make external hex implants bad, the millions placed and still functioning are the evidence for that.
Nobel runs four incompatible connection families, external hex, tri-channel, conical and trioval conical. Components do not cross between them. Whatever you receive, get the connection type, platform and reference number written down; it determines which parts can ever be fitted to your implant. The brand page has a diagram of all four.
Questions worth asking your dentist
- Can you identify my implant's platform and reference number from my records or X-rays?
- Are replacement components still readily available for this connection?
- Is there any clinical reason to be concerned about my existing implant?
- What should I watch for, given how long it has been in place?
- How often should I have it professionally checked?
- Will you record the details in writing so I have them permanently?
Related systems
NobelReplace
The other Nobel line with a very large installed base.
NobelActive
Nobel's most widely placed current implant.
References
- Nobel Biocare. Product Catalog, Edition 2024/2025. Catalogue 89351.
- Brånemark PI, Hansson BO, Adell R, et al. Osseointegrated implants in the treatment of the edentulous jaw. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Suppl. 1977;16:1–132.
- Adell R, Lekholm U, Rockler B, Brånemark PI. A 15-year study of osseointegrated implants in the treatment of the edentulous jaw. Int J Oral Surg. 1981;10(6):387–416.
Specifications compiled from Nobel Biocare's publicly available product literature and Canadian product pages. Manufacturer performance claims are identified as such. DentalImplantInfo.ca is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Nobel Biocare. Nobel Biocare, NobelActive, NobelParallel, NobelReplace, NobelPearl, NobelZygoma, Brånemark System, TiUnite, TiUltra, Xeal and NobelProcera are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for identification and educational purposes.