Dental implants are essentially are new tooth roots that are placed in the bone and then new teeth can be attached to them. Titanium implants have been the standard since the 1960s and have a very good success rate, but over the last 60 years our understanding of how dental implants and the body interact has significantly grown. 

Zirconia (ceramic) dental implants are now an alternative to titanium implants. They are FDA approved and offer many advances, being a “metal-free” implant. Gums love ceramic! The soft tissue and bone responds very favorably to the ceramic giving an excellent healing result. While titanium has been available and used for over 55 years, ceramic implants have been in Europe for close to 20 years and have recently been cleared by the FDA for use in the US. While not for everyone, zirconia dental implants are an aesthetically pleasing option as they are the same color as your natural teeth. Metal-free ZERAMEX® ceramic implants excel in terms of function, health and aesthetics.

Esthetics can be challenging under normal circumstances around natural teeth. When teeth are to be replaced with implants, especially in the esthetic zone, gingival tissue can complicate the desired results.

It is a mistake to assume that because the body builds bone around dental implants, titanium is actually biocompatible. If it were truly biocompatible, gum tissue would respond as well to titanium as the bone does, but it doesn’t — getting gum tissue to grow up to and surround titanium implants can be a challenge.

Zirconia is known for its likeness to diamonds. It is a crystal material that is altered slightly when used in implant dentistry to give it a tooth colour and appearance.  Zirconia is the crystal form of the transitional metal Zirconium and Zirconia implants are thus considered “metal free”. Due to the rise of concerns over Mercury used in dental fillings, many patients are more comfortable with the idea of keeping metal completely out of their mouths and Zirconia Implants enable them to do this.