4 Reasons to Choose Titanium Dental Implants Over Zirconia

Dentist Blog

Dental implants offer patients a very attractive way to replace any lost teeth. Unlike traditional dentures, dental implants are secured into the jawbone. This makes them a permanent solution and reduces the risk of bone reabsorption.

Titanium has been the preferred material for dental implants for decades, but some dentists now offer alternatives. One of the more common alternatives is a hard ceramic material known as zirconia. While zirconia dental implants do offer a few benefits, titanium is still going to be the best choice for most patients. Here are just four reasons why.

1. Cost

Dental implants tend to be relatively expensive, which is why many dentists allow you to pay for them in instalments over a number of years. To keep costs as manageable as possible without impacting the quality of your implants, it makes sense to go for titanium over zirconia. The cost of the implant itself will be slightly lower, and the cost difference is going to add up if you need more than one implant, but you'll also generally need to pay less for things like consultation and surgery since titanium implants are far more common.  

2. Strength

Strength is obviously important when considering dental implants, and titanium is fantastic in this regard. Despite being a relatively light metal, it is also extremely strong and able to resist fractures very well. While zirconia is also quite strong, it's more brittle than titanium. This gives it a lower flexural strength, which makes fractures more likely. This is particularly problematic with the smaller and thinner implants needed to replace teeth at the front of the mouth.

3. Options

Advances made over the last few years have seen zirconia implants become more versatile, but there are still far fewer options available than there are for titanium. This isn't something likely to affect every patient, but some will find that the reduced adaptability of zirconia implants is a problem. In contrast, the range of components covering everything from size to function is much wider when you turn to titanium implants.

4. Track Record             

Finally, it's worth keeping in mind that titanium implants have been around a lot longer than zirconia implants and are still used far more widely. This means they have a proven long-term success rate for many patients, including for those who have had their implants for decades. While zirconia implants are still considered reliable, they just don't have the same track record. As such, patients often experience greater peace of mind by going with titanium implants.

For more information, contact a dentist near you.

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21 November 2022