Ceramic implants and materials
Zirconia (ceramic) versus titanium implants: evidence, design, candidacy, cost differences and honest limits of what is known.
- Ceramic implants and materials
Can ceramic implants support a bridge or a full arch of teeth?
In selected cases, yes. Zirconia (ceramic) implants have been used to support single crowns and short bridges, and more recently multi-unit and complete-arch…
- Ceramic implants and materials
How 3D imaging is used to plan a ceramic implant
A ceramic implant is planned from a cone-beam CT scan, a 3D X-ray that shows the width, height and shape of the jawbone, the position of the nerve canal and sinus floor…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Are ceramic implants easier to keep clean than titanium ones?
Mostly no. In laboratory studies and in some short clinical studies, zirconia (ceramic) surfaces have collected somewhat less bacterial film than titanium. But when…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Teeth grinding and ceramic implants: what extra planning may be needed
Grinding or clenching does not usually rule out an implant, ceramic or otherwise, but it changes the plan. Pooled studies associate bruxism with more mechanical…
- Ceramic implants and materials
How to find out which implant system is in your mouth, and why it matters
The most reliable record is made on the day of surgery. The dentist or surgeon who placed the implant usually records the manufacturer, system, diameter and length, and…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Ceramic implants for front teeth: what good planning checks before surgery
A ceramic (zirconia) implant can be a reasonable choice for a front tooth, and a randomized trial that followed single-piece zirconia and titanium implants in the upper…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Metallic taste after dental work: why the material may not be the whole answer
Usually not the material alone. A metallic taste after an implant, extraction, or other dental work has many possible sources, and the implant or restoration material is…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Can a ceramic implant replace a back molar? Bite force, design and the evidence
In selected cases, yes. Zirconia (ceramic) implants are used to replace back teeth, but molars carry the heaviest bite forces in the mouth, and the…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Autoimmune conditions and implant materials: what the evidence can and cannot promise
Having an autoimmune condition does not rule out dental implants, and the material is usually not the deciding factor. No good-quality evidence shows that a ceramic…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Are ceramic implants guaranteed to last a lifetime? What the follow-up studies show
No. No dental implant, ceramic or titanium, is guaranteed to last a lifetime, and no evidence supports such a promise. Published systematic reviews put zirconia implant…
- Ceramic implants and materials
What the research says about ceramic implants after five years
Published five-year results for zirconia (ceramic) implants are encouraging but uneven. Prospective cohorts and pooled reviews report survival mostly in the low-to-high…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Can a ceramic implant still get gum inflammation? Yes, and here is what to watch
Yes. A ceramic (zirconia) implant sits in the same living gum and bone as any other implant, and that tissue can become inflamed when bacterial plaque is allowed to…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Worried about a titanium allergy? What an evidence-based evaluation involves
True titanium hypersensitivity appears to be rare, and the evidence is mostly case reports and small studies, but it belongs on the list of possible causes when an…
- Ceramic implants and materials
A ceramic implant has cracked or feels loose: what decides the next step?
Start by finding out what has broken, because "my ceramic implant cracked" can describe several different problems. A chipped or loose crown, a loosened connector or…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Replacing a titanium implant with ceramic: when removal may add more risk than it removes
Usually, no. A titanium implant that is stable, comfortable and surrounded by healthy bone is not normally replaced on material grounds alone. Removing an integrated…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Is a ceramic implant restoration completely metal-free? Check every component
Not necessarily. The implant post itself can be made of zirconia, a ceramic usually described as metal-free, but a finished implant tooth has several parts. In two-piece…
- Ceramic implants and materials
One-piece or two-piece zirconia implants: what the design changes for you
A one-piece zirconia implant has the post in the bone and the abutment (the part the crown attaches to) made as a single unit, so the crown's position is fixed the…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Ceramic implant or ceramic crown? They are different parts of the same tooth
They are different parts of the same tooth. A dental implant is the root-shaped post placed in the jawbone to replace a missing root. A crown is the visible tooth that…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Ceramic (zirconia) implants when you drive from Ventura County: how the stages are planned
The number of trips and the gaps between them are set by the stages of implant treatment, not by your zip code. A single ceramic (zirconia) implant usually involves a…
- Ceramic implants and materials
White implants and thin gums: does the material change what shows through?
It can, in selected cases. Gum tissue is partly translucent, so when the gum over an implant is thin, a gray titanium implant or abutment (the connector between the…
- Ceramic implants and materials
Ceramic versus titanium dental implants: compare evidence, design, and fit
Neither material is better in every case. Titanium implants have decades of long-term data and flexible two-piece designs that suit a wide range of sites. Zirconia…