ZIRCONIUM "WHITE" DENTAL IMPLANTS

Until recently modern dental implants were machined from pure titanium or titanium alloy. The main disadvantage was that they were a silver-black colour and were sometimes visible through the gum. Zirconium implants are pure white providing obvious aesthetic advantages over the dark grey metal of titanium. The picture on the right shows a zirconium abutment fitted to a titanium implant.

You will see the superior aesthetic effect of zirconium when transilluminated. Currently zirconuim dental implants are solid one-piece items. This  restricts their application where an angulation occurs between the root and the crown of the tooth.

Many dentists still fit

porcelain fused to metal crowns on patient's front teeth. Those who do so will use a metal abutment (the connector between the implant and the crown). This is easier, quicker and cheaper than working with zirconium abutments and ceramic crowns but the aesthetic result in inferior. Zirconium and ceramic allow the light to pass through the crowns like a natural tooth making them come to life. The quality of laboratory work varies significantly from one technician to another. The challenge when replacing a single tooth is to make it indistinguishable from the adjacent teeth. To do otherwise would be silly.

Implant companies are developing alloys of titanium and zirconium that may offer the best of both worlds. Only time and clinical trials will tell.