Self-drilling implant

In accordance with the invention, a dental implant comprises a body portion and a head portion. The body portion includes a tip portion which is remote from the head portion, a lead thread portion adjacent the tip portion, an intermediate thread portion adjacent the lead thread portion and a distal thread portion which is adjacent to the head portion. The dental implant further includes a central bore within the head portion. There is a thread within the bore for receiving a dental prosthesis. The tip portion comprises at least one cutting edge for cutting bone as the implant is rotated. The body portion includes at least one flute. The flute has a first end adjacent to the at least one cutting edge for assisting removal of bone cuttings from the cutting edge. In a more preferred embodiment of the invention, the implant includes at least two cutting edges and at least two flutes. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the flutes extend distally toward the head portion, but terminate at the end of the intermediate portion so that the distal thread portion does not have any portion thereof containing a fluted surface.