The Top Reasons To Choose Zirconium Crowns For Your Dental Implants

There are many options for correcting tooth loss. Among those options is one of the best possible solutions for fixing a lost or damaged tooth: dental implant placement. There are different types of dental implants, but for the best results it will be necessary to have a high-grade crown crafted. One of the best high-grade crown materials is zirconium. Read on to learn more about the implant process and the difference between high-grade zirconium crowns versus lesser materials.

What Is a Dental Implant?

There are many different procedures that could be considered a dental implant. However, the procedure that is most often cited when this term is used is the endosteal implant. The endosteal implant is a procedure that utilizes three components to create an artificial tooth that is anchored inside the jawbone. 

There are different types of materials that can be used at each stage of the process. The materials used vary with the component. The three components are the crown, the abutment, and the base. 

The base and abutment are normally created from medical grade titanium or from ceramic materials such as zirconium. The base comes in one of three designs; a screw-shape, a blade-shape, or a cylinder-shape. The abutment is typically a rod or a cone-shaped component. 

The crown can be quite variable in its material makeup. It is often crafted from one of the following materials:

• Zirconium
• Porcelain
• Metal Overlaid with Porcelain
• Stainless Steel
• Titanium
• Gold
• Dental Acrylic

When the three components are brought together and placed in the jawbone, the resulting prosthetic can look virtually indistinguishable from a natural tooth. However, that appearance is only possible with four of the mentioned materials. Those four materials are zirconium, porcelain, metal overlaid with porcelain, and dental acrylic. 

Why Choose Zirconium Crowns?

The choice of crown material should be made based on the durability of the material, the cost of the material, and the capacity of the material to mimic a natural tooth. Zirconium crowns bring the following factors to the dental implant procedure:

Durability - Zirconium is crafted from a crystalline composite structure as a single unit. This construction method allows zirconium to have roughly five times the overall strength and durability of porcelain fused to metal. Porcelain fused to metal is the traditional benchmark crown material that other crown materials are measured against.

Cost - This factor can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage of zirconium crowns. This material type is the most expensive and may be seen as a disadvantage at first. Crowns made of zirconium will typically cost $1000 each. However, zirconium crowns need to be replaced less often than other materials on average due to their impressive durability.

The lowered frequency of replacement may allow for the initial cost of implantation to balance out over time. You may even save money in the long run. A single zirconium crown might remain viable for years, perhaps several decades, without chipping or cracking like a porcelain crown.

Appearance - Zirconium crowns provide the greatest capacity to mimic natural tooth appearance. Unlike porcelain fused to metal, a zirconium crown does not have the black lining that will occur after installation. The crown will also have the mild-translucence of a natural tooth as well. 

Temperature Sensitivity - The ability to mimic a tooth is not found solely in appearance. Zirconium crowns do not conduct electricity like a metal crown. This removes the hot and cold temperature sensitivity issues that most metal based crowns will have.

Zirconium crowns are highly durable, long-lasting, and do not normally cause pain when eating hot or cold food. Consider discussing zirconium implants with your dentist in order to permanently solve the issue of lost or damaged teeth. For more information, visit websites like http://www.nwidentist.com/.