Dental implant materials: What is a dental implant made of?

Dental implant materials are something nearly all patients want to know more about. From this article, you can find out all about titanium dental implants and ceramic dental implants. What are the differences and when do we use them?

Dental implants

The best way of replacing a lost tooth is with a dental implant and a hitched up dental crown. The first manufactured dental implant appeared around 30 years ago, and the technique has evolved ever since. At the beginning, the primary target was replacing the missing tooth. This means aesthetics was secondary. As time passed, aesthetic expectations became conspicuous and dental implant manufacturers started developing dental implants according to this. Nowadays, there are two materials of which dental implants are made of: titanium and ceramic.

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Dental implant materials: Titanium dental implants

Dentistry has been using titanium dental implants for replacing missing teeth successfully for decades. The advantage of titanium is that it doesn’t cause allergic reactions and the human body tolerates it in general. Although titanium allergy has never been officially documented, it is not impossible.

The surface of the dental implant is rough. This sub serves the bonding amongst the bone tissue and the dental implant.

Dental implant materials: Ceramic dental implants

Medicine uses ceramic since the eighties. Nowadays, the alternative to titanium dental implants are made of zirconium oxide, which is a special type of ceramic. The main difference between the two dental implant materials is the colour. Zirconium oxide is white, so by using it, even the artificial tooth root can have a more natural colour.

Zirconium oxide is hypoallergenic and tissue-friendly. It does not cause intolerance in the body.

The only disadvantage of ceramic implants, is that they are more rigid and inflexible, therefore they act differently when they are put out to the power of the bite. There are certain cases, when the use of ceramic implants is not advised, because they can break when loaded.

Dental implant materials: which should we choose?

Dentistry uses these two dental implant materials. Titanium dental implants are more common for two reasons. They are somewhat more durable and much cheaper than ceramic dental implants. Also, apart from some extreme cases, the aesthetic advantages do not prevail, since dental implants are mostly hidden under the gum and the dental crown and do not show.

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