What Are Zirconia Crowns?

 

So zirconia crowns, are they a scam or not? It’s a great question. There’s a lot of different dental materials that we use on a daily basis in the practice, and if you don’t quite understand the differences, it’s easy to get confused and worried that you might not be getting a quality material.

So I’m here today to kind of put your mind at ease. The zirconia that we use in dentistry is very different than what you might think of as cubic zirconia or the fake diamonds. The zirconia we use is extremely strong. In fact, it’s actually the strongest material that we use in dental appliances.

So whether we’re talking about zirconia as part of a crown, part of a big long span bridge, that’s the strongest material we use, and as a great advantage is that it’s very white in color, so it gives a very aesthetic appeal when it’s used underneath porcelain for that crown or bridge.

Zirconia vs. Metal Crowns

The other option we have is metal, and a lot of, you’re probably familiar with looking at someone’s crowns that are a little bit older, they’ve had a little bit of tissue ed. You can kind of see the edge of the crowns right at the margin.

It looks real dark and kind of unhealthy. It’s totally healthy, but it can be anesthetic. So that’s one of the main reasons that we’re switching away from porcelain fuses to metal with that dark gray lining to a zirconia, which is a white lining, and the big advantage is actually even stronger than the metal.

What About Gold Crowns?

Some of you might ask, but I’ve got gold crowns, or what about gold? Great question. I’m a big fan of gold. We use it a lot, especially in areas of the mouth that are under a lot of force and a lot of duress and we don’t have a lot of space between the teeth. We can be really conservative by making a gold crown. Now, a lot of times, having a gold crown towards the front of your mouth may not be desirable, so that’s why we typically use it towards the back, where it can just do a lot of work and it’s kind of out of sight.

Side Effects of Metal Crowns

Some people are often concerned about the side effects of metal crowns. In my experience, really the only side effects you might experience are kind of aesthetic concerns, whereas as you age and get a little bit older, when that tissue pulls back, sometimes you see that dark metal underneath there. It’s not necessarily breaking down or causing you damage, but it just can be unsightly and not aesthetic. On rare occasions, you can’t have a metal allergy, but generally speaking, the metals that we use in quality, constructed metal crowns are very safe and cause no side effects.

Zirconia Crowns vs. Filling Materials

There’s also some confusion between the materials we use in crowns versus the material we use in fillings. So we only use zirconia as part of a crown or a bridge. It’s not able to be manipulated to a point where we can put it in a filling. And we also, there’s a difference between the metal used in crowns and the metal fillings that you see.

Older fillings, it’s called amalgam, has mercury in it. It’s in a stable state, so it’s not dangerous. It’s not toxic, but it can be unsightly, and over time, it can kind of leach and cause discoloration and kind of wear away and need to be replaced. The majority of fillings we do now is a tooth colored composite resin, and one of the big advantages of those is it can be very conservative. So if you have some tooth decay, we can just take away the tooth decay and basically fill that missing space with a nice tooth colored filling material that actually bonds to the tooth and seals everything off and prevents further decay and breakdown.

Should You Consider Zirconia Crowns?

So if you’re considering getting crowns or you’ve been told you need crowns and you have questions about materials or worried about what kind of crown would be best in your mouth, please feel free to call us. I’d love to talk to you. I want to be here as a source of information. If you’re motivated, please come see us. We’d love to take care of you. I like to spend time with every patient, sit down and walk through them with their history and their mouth and work through what would be the best material for them.

At our practice, we charge the same price regardless of what material we use. And one of the main reasons we did that is because we don’t want price to determine treatment. Everything we do is from the treatment first mentality, and you can rest assured that zirconia and crowns is completely safe.

Contact Dr. Brett Langston Today!

I’m Dr. Brett Langston, owner at Dental Implant and Aesthetic Specialist here in Brookhaven, Georgia, and I’m here to help you watch your mouth.