A zirconia crown is a type of dental restoration that uses zirconium oxide as its main ingredient to create an artificial tooth.
Zirconia offers superior strength and durability for dental crowns. It is at least three times stronger than porcelain or PFM restorations. Unlike porcelain, zirconia can withstand wear and tear without chipping, so zirconia restorations tolerate the forces of mastication and bruxism.
In order to understand zirconium crown, we need to emphasize on dental crowns at first.
What is a Dental Crown?
Your teeth may become harmed over time. There are many potential causes for this, including tooth decay, trauma, injuries or just usage of it over time. A teeth lose their shape, form and size accordinly. Dental crowns are “caps” that fit over your teeth and have the shape of teeth. Imagine it as a snug-fitting cap for your tooth. The crown gives the tooth back its original size, shape, strength, and look.
Dental Filling vs. Dental Crown
When may a patient get away with simply a filling and when does he or she absolutely need a dental crown? The decision to receive a crown is definetaly up to the patient. We as Istanbul Dental Clinics, will provide the patient with the information and guidance they need to make an informed decision. Patients must remember that protecting their teeth and maintaining their optimal health are better decisions for their overall health. To maintain the structural integrity of the tooth after a root canal procedure, crowns are required. Because the nerve is no longer functional and the tooth has no blood flow, root canal teeth become brittle and fragile.
Is Zirconium Crown Treatment Necessary?
There are several causes why a dentist might advise getting a dental crown. The crown is inevitable in some circumstances, but there are other ways to handle them. The three most frequent causes of dental crowns are tooth decay, root canals, and tooth injury. Although a complete crown may have been your dentist’s recommendation, there are occasionally alternate choices.
Types of Dental Crowns
Which material your dentist uses will depend on your needs and preferences, as well as availability of the material. Your dentist may also have a preference for certain materials.
1. Gold crowns
Gold crowns are a mixture of copper and other metals, such as nickel or chromium. The main advantage of golden crowns is their strength and durability.
2. All Porcelain Crowns
The most common type of crowns nowadays, as they are made entirely of porcelain.
3. Porcelain Fused-to-Metal Crowns (PFM)
Porcelain and metal crowns are another widely used type of dental crown; It provides both strengths (due to its metallic structure) and aesthetic (due to the porcelain layer covering the cover).
4. Zirconium Crowns
Zirconia is a relatively new material, which combines the strength of metal with the aesthetics of ceramic crowns. Zirconia has become highly transparent, and layered zirconium crowns have recently become a more popular choice. Zirconia is the strongest and is becoming more popular for back teeth, especially in people who grind their teeth.
The strongest and sturdiest type of ceramic crown currently available is made of zirconia. These crowns are incredibly long-lasting and sustain biting and chewing forces exceedingly well since zirconia is a form of crystal that is incredibly strong and practically unbreakable. They are color-matched to the natural teeth, but due to the relatively opaque color of the ceramic, they are not as translucent and light-reflective as other porcelain crowns.
Zirconia is such a hard material that it cannot be “etched” before cementation (given a rough texture to aid adhesion to the natural tooth, analogous to roughening up a surface with sandpaper to make paint attach better). As a result, they are bonded differently than other ceramic crown varieties. They might also be harsh. They can also be abrasive and there is greater risk of them wearing down the opposing teeth.
5. Emax Crown: Lithium Disilicate Crowns
The newest type of crown in dentistry today is known as E-max, it is a type of all-ceramic crown made of lithium disilicate (it is also light and thin).
Lithium discolicate glass ceramic, which is used to make Emax crowns, offers remarkable strength, translucency, and durability qualities. They have good long-term wear characteristics similar to those of natural enamel and are highly biocompatible in the mouth (the outer layer of your teeth). They can readily survive biting and chewing forces despite being formed into very thin layers since they are robust enough to do so. Emax crowns can be produced in a dental lab or on a CAD/CAM machine.
Consider before deciding the type of crown
Dental crown is a long-lasting restorative treatment. That signifies that you will have a crown in your mouth for a very long time. Of course, you want it done in most qualified and competent approach. Therefore, if at all possible, avoid going to the dentist who is the least expensive without considering your options when comparing dental crown types and costs. Consider every aspect before making a choice.
It could be preferable to invest a little extra and ensure that the benefits are positive and long-lasting. Selecting solely affordable options could result in subpar therapies, which would cost more, take longer, and cause more suffering in the long run.
Preferring Zirconium Crown
When recovering a single tooth, some dentists only recommend zirconia or all-ceramic restorations. The majority of dental offices are shifting away from using PFM and all-ceramic crowns in favor of using zirconia to make fixed tooth prostheses. Zirconia is quickly replacing other materials as the preferred choice for creating dental crowns and other restorations due to its exceptional aesthetics and near-indestructibility.
Advantages of Zirconium Crown
1. Extraordinary Strength
For dental crowns, zirconia provides excellent strength and durability, so zirconium crowns have an excellent strength. In comparison to porcelain or PFM restorations, it is at least three times stronger. Zirconia restorations can survive the stresses of bruxism and mastication because, unlike porcelain, it can sustain wear and tear without chipping. The crown on this tooth is practically unbreakable and made to survive the tough environment, especially in the back of the mouth, thanks to more recent monolithic zirconia (single, solid blocks of zirconia).
2. A Smile That Looks Natural
There is no metal lining in zirconia near the gingival margin. At the coronal aspect of the crown, porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns have a metal layer underneath the porcelain layer. When patients smile, this metal lining is typically visible at the gingival margin. Zirconium crowns completely do away with the metal lining, allowing patients to grin with assurance. Zirconia crowns can also be customized to fit any size or form to match a patient’s other teeth.
3. Reliability and Durability
Zirconium crown is even more resilient than the PFM ceramics that are often utilized. For instance, solid zirconia is more resistant to mastication and grinding because it has more stabilizers than PFM ceramics. Zirconia restorations can last a patient their entire lifetime if kept up to date.
4. Customization
Zirconium crown can be produced in a variety of ways to meet the needs of the patient due to a variety of parameters, including chemical composition and manufacturing requirements. This personalization reduces the room for error and guarantees a perfect fit for each person.
5. Safer for Patients
Patients who have allergic reactions to the alloys in PFM restorations won’t develop allergies because of zirconia’s high biocompatibility. Zirconia has exceptional biocompatibility, which makes the crowns and bridges made from it quite safe for use in clinical settings.
Istanbul Dental Clinics Statement
For patients in need of one or more dental crowns, it is often wise to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of both metal and porcelain crowns with a dentist. Because the location of the teeth or the purpose of crown is very specific to the patient, consulting a dentist is the best way. By taking into account the location of the affected tooth and the patient’s individual preferences, the dentist and patient can decide together on the right material to use.
At Istanbul Dental, with our qualified team we are ready to answer your additional questions about zirconium crowns or else, so do not hesitate to get in touch with us . Also, get a quote to start planning your dental treatment as whole process including your VIP transfer! While gathering information and inspecting the options about the dental services, we recommend you to visit our smile gallery and see our previous patients’ sincere smiles.