Dental restorations return the look and functionality of missing, decaying, or fractured teeth. With restoration, a dentist can replace and restore missing teeth. When a patient’s tooth structures are missing from decay, fracture, or previous restoration efforts, a dental restoration can fill in the gaps. Learn more about the types of restorations dentists choose and what separates zirconia restorations from the rest.
Types of Restorations
There are various types of dental restorations available to patients. Your patient’s dental problems largely determine the restoration procedure you’ll perform. These may include fillings, crowns, implants, bridges, and dentures. Each type of restoration serves a similar but specific purpose.
Crowns – A “cap” is placed over a tooth to restore its shape, size, strength, and appearance. It can also hold a bridge or be placed over a dental implant.
Bridges – Also known as fixed partial dentures, these false teeth are designed to bridge the gap left by one or more missing teeth. Crowns can anchor bridges and permanently cement them.
Dentures – Used as a removable replacement for missing teeth, dentures can partially or completely replace missing teeth.
Implants – Implants are small anchor points placed in the bone socket where a missing tooth once was. A crown then covers implants.
What Are Zirconia Crowns & Bridges?
If you want to give your patients the best dental restoration option, choose zirconia restorations. While some dentists choose conventional options such as porcelain-fused-metal (PFM) crowns or full-gold crowns, you can give patients the strength and beauty of zirconia. The first versions of zirconia restorations arrived in the early 2000s. At the time, zirconia crowns and bridges met the strength requirements. However, they lacked the pleasing appearance that other options offered. Thanks to improvements in technology and testing, zirconia crowns and bridges rival conventional dental restoration practices.
Characteristics of Zirconia Restorations
Full-contour zirconia crowns restorations are composed of a material that’s similar to titanium. Yet, it doesn’t stop bone-forming cells called osteoblasts, which are essential for osseointegration. Similar to titanium, zirconia provides strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance. Zirconia is also highly biocompatible, making it a perfect option for your patients allergic to materials used in PFMs.
Advantages of Zirconia Restorations
There are several reasons why zirconia restorations are superior to conventional options such as PFMs. They have great benefits for your patient’s teeth and provide you with less work to do since these crowns are so well-fitting. See why choosing zirconia restorations are advantageous for you and your patients.
Customizable
There is no one size fits all solution for dental restorations, and that’s true for zirconia as well. However, chemical composition and processing requirements allow zirconia to better suit a patient’s needs. Due to the use of computer-aided design, these restorations leave little room for error and help create a precise fit. It also means that you will spend less time adjusting or cementing the restoration.
Biocompatible
As previously mentioned, zirconia crowns and bridges are highly biocompatible. This makes them perfect for patients allergic to other restoration materials. Beyond allergy prevention, these restorations have a smooth surface that helps reduce plaque from building up. And since zirconia is metal-free, it also prevents darkening of the gingival area. Additionally, zirconia eliminates the possibility of metal margins’ exposure to gum recession.
Designed For Comfort & Ease
As stated above, zirconia’s customizability allows it to be manufactured in a wide range of shades to match the color of your patient’s teeth. The material used for zirconia restorations is translucent by nature, allowing it to transmit the color of adjacent teeth. Additionally, zirconia crowns do not transmit hot and cold temperatures the way conventional restorative materials do, giving your patient added comfort. You can even use conventional cementing practices when putting in a zirconia crown. Simply use Biscp’s Z-Prime plus, then add a bonding agent of your choice, followed by dual-cure resin cement.
Strength & Durability
A big hurdle for any dental restoration is ensuring the materials used are strong enough to withstand the force of chewing. Zirconia can be up to five times stronger than porcelain-based restorations or other types of crowns. Its strength also makes it more capable of withstanding the pressures of grinding teeth and nail-biting.
Stain Resistance
When a patient looks for a restoration that will not stick out when smiling, zirconia’s stain-resistant properties make a perfect fit. Zirconia can resist stains from coffee, tea, wine, and nicotine, although some color adjustments may be necessary. This is due to the natural color of a patient’s teeth changing over time or if they recently had their teeth whitened.
Preserves The Original Tooth
During crown fitting for other restorations, a dentist may need to reduce the original tooth to fit properly. Additionally, a dentist may need to adjust and prepare the teeth around the one capped tooth. On the other hand, zirconia crowns do not need as much removal to ensure a precise fit, leaving more of the original tooth intact.
Ready To Try? Get Yours From Digital Designs Dental Lab
Digital Designs Dental Lab (DDDL) helps dentists and clinics, large and small, get the supplies they need on time. We provide access to the most advanced products and services, helping you provide your patients the very best care. As a full-service lab, we want to help your dental practice thrive. To show how confident we are in our services, we offer a free trial crown with your first order. Learn how you can get started with your free trial crown here.
