High Strong Dental Implants Crowns Not Suffer any Corrosion

Zirconia is a ceramic and does not suffer any corrosion.

Throughout the decades, the materials that have been used for the dental treatments have been made with metal. The main reason was to give mechanical strength and therefore augment the longevity of the treatment.

Overtime, the scientific research contributed enormously to the improvement of the ceramic’s mechanical strength. 

In the beginning, ceramics were introduced into the patients mouth because of it’s fabulous esthetic properties. However, the latests research shows that the esthetic is not the most important characteristic of this material.

Ceramics due to its inert, non-corrosive and nonallergic properties, it is actually many times more beneficial to the patient than any other dental material ever made. We encourage patients to demand treatments without metal. Metal-free treatments. All-ceramic treatments.

In order to allay these concerns and have an implant option for these people, several companies have conducted further research and development into “metal-free” implants. 

This has led to the use of another metal called zirconium, which is just one row below titanium in the chemical periodic table.. Zirconium first became popular in its crystalline cubic zirconia form due to its resemblance to a flawless diamond. For dental use, it is used in the form of zirconium oxide ZrO2.

It is not pure ZrO2—there are trace amounts of another metal called hafnium (Hf) and the oxide is combined with yttrium (another metal) to improve its properties. The result is a white opaque-looking product and in this form, labeled as a ceramic, although there are metal atoms within the material.

The material is very strong and hard and has also been used for making crowns and bridges.

With the search for alternative implant materials, it was discovered that zirconia also fused to bone (osseointegrated) much like titanium. It first became approved for use in Europe in 2008 and in Canada in 2013.

Advantage                                                                                                                                                         

• Used over 20 years in medicine, mainly for prosthetic joints, with good success.
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• Bio-compatible (completely tissue-friendly); there are no allergic reactions, no sensitivity to temperature and no impact on taste.
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• Gum tissue-friendly material with low plaque retention and inflammation.
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• Since zirconium is white and more similar to the color of natural teeth, it may have aesthetic advantages over titanium. In rare event of gum tissue recession or shrinkage, ceramic dental implants will not reveal gray lines like in the case of titanium implants. However, it should be pointed out that similar remarkable aesthetic results can be achieved with titanium implants if they are used along with ceramic abutments and crowns.

Disadvantage                                                                                                                                                

• Zirconium dental implants are one-piece structures and can only work in one position, unlike a two-piece titanium dental implants that offer more flexibility in their angle through use of custom abutments. Therefore ceramic implants must be placed with extreme caution and attention to orientation and angle.

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• There are reported non-integration and fractures and there are no long term studies to support their efficacy and longevity in the literature. The existing research is limited and very short term.

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• Zirconia implants may be subjected to hydrolysis (a physiological process) whereby they can absorb water and potentially become more prone to fracture. Although the initial studies are favorable, more investigations are in progress.