When we talk about implants, the first thing that comes to our mind is Titanium. We recommend Titanium implants to our patients as Titanium is stronger, fuses better with the bone, longer lasting, and economical than Zirconia. Titanium is also light-weight and has a much higher success rate compared to Zirconia.
Zirconia implants are the preferred choice in the following cases:
However, in certain cases, Zirconia implants is the preferred choice.
As Zirconia is non-metal, Zirconia implants are advisable for patients who are allergic to metal. When the patient is allergic to metals, he/ she may be allergic to Titanium as well though it’s generally safer. Implants can fail in such cases. When the allergy is suspected, MELISA test is advisable. MELISA is a clinically validated blood test which identifies allergy to various metals in a single test.
Titanium is also a contraindication when there is the presence of an autoimmune disease.
Galvanism is another factor. When a Titanium implant is placed close to other metal restorations in the mouth, there can be galvanism. When we place Titanium implants, there will be inflammation, and galvanism can cause corrosion and osteolysis, thus affecting the strength as well as durability of Titanium implants.
Looks wise, Zirconia is more aesthetically pleasing than Titanium. As Titanium has a metallic look, a black line could be seen below the crown or at the level of gums. Zirconia is tooth coloured and comes in several shades to match the teeth. Also, it has unique properties such as translucency which make it look like the natural teeth.
However, Titanium implants are the preferred choice for full-arch replacements. Their unique properties such as higher strength, ability to withstand greater forces as well as resistance to fracture make them more suitable.
As both Titanium and Zirconia have pros and cons, we would like to conclude that the choice of implant material is based on the situation and varies case to case.
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