What are Zirconia Crowns?
Dentists often recommend capping a tooth that is wearing down, chipped, or cracked, with a dental crown. Crowns can help maintain the shape, size, appearance, and strength of a person’s natural teeth and are made from one or more materials.
Zirconia is a popular material that patients are frequently utilizing for dental crowns. Ultimately, the choice of material will depend on several factors including cost, strength, location of the tooth, and how it looks. Patients considering zirconia crowns for their damaged tooth are likely curious about the advantages and disadvantages of the material which this article will examine.
History of Dental Crowns
The American Dental Association indicates that crowns were first used by ancient Italians to repair worn or broken teeth around 200 AD. More recently, gold alloys and other metals have been used to cap teeth. While sufficiently strong to withstand the forces of chewing, these metals do not look like natural teeth. Gold crowns tend to be less expensive than options that more closely resemble teeth but for most patients, having a restoration that looks the closest to a natural tooth is the ideal choice.
To achieve better aesthetics, dentists eventually began to use porcelain for dental crowns. Unfortunately, the downfall of porcelain is it does not have the strength of gold or other metal options. As such, it is prone to cracking, chipping, or breaking. To remedy this fragility, zirconia was introduced as a stronger, more durable option that closely resembles the look of natural teeth.
Advanta3ges of Zirconia
Classified as a ceramic, zirconia is a white material that combines the strength of metal with the tooth-like aesthetics of porcelain. To further boost performance, zirconia crowns undergo continual development within the dental industry.
Some of the advantages offered by zirconia dental crowns are:
- The color looks similar to natural teeth and can be layered with porcelain for even better aesthetics.
- The material is strong and durable like gold and other metals.
- Zirconia can be shaped by a dentist and requires less preparation compared to other materials meaning patients can often be fitted for crowns and have them placed in a single appointment.
- They can be cemented or bonded to a tooth which grants the dentist more options for the patient’s specific case.
- Zirconia is biocompatible meaning it will not cause adverse reactions in the body.
Disadvantages of Zirconia
Despite the numerous benefits zirconia crowns offer, they do have some disadvantages that patients should consider. While the material more closely resembles a real tooth when compared to gold or other metals, zirconia is more opaque. This can be problematic if replacing a front tooth as zirconia can be a noticeably different shade than adjacent natural teeth. And despite its strength being one of zirconia’s benefits, there are instances where a tooth can be too strong. For example, if a dentist needs to adjust a patient’s crown to even out the bite or file a crown down because it is damaging a real tooth, zirconia’s strength can be a drawback.