Have you heard about the material "zirconia" in dental treatment in recent years? This material has very excellent characteristics and is increasingly used as a treatment material.
So, what exactly is zirconia? What are the advantages and disadvantages of zirconia? Can zirconia be used for dental treatment?
7 advantages of using zirconia
Originally, zirconia is often known as a diamond imitation. Zirconia is a very strong and easy-to-use ceramic. Until now, dental treatment has generally used metal and ceramic for dental braces. However, the components of metal oxidation cause discoloration of gums and tooth tissues, and general porcelain materials are not strong enough to bite strongly. Therefore, zirconia has attracted attention in recent years. First of all, zirconia is also very strong among ceramic materials, and its white and transparent feeling is also very good, which is not easy to attract attention. Specifically, it has the following advantages.
① Strength of zirconia
Zirconium oxide has high strength, which can reach more than 1000Pa, which is close to the strength of natural teeth.
Zirconia is called "ceramic steel" because of its high toughness and strength, so it can maintain sufficient strength even when used for back teeth.
In addition, due to the insufficient strength of previous ceramics, metal was used to reinforce the abutments for dental implants and bridge restorations, but if it is high-strength zirconia, it can be used alone.
② White and transparent, beautiful
Until now, if metal is used for crowns (tooth crowns), the difference in color from the surrounding area is obvious at a glance. Even for back teeth, some people worry whether it will be conspicuous when they open their mouths and smile.
In this regard, if it is zirconia, the color is beautiful, so it will be close to the color of other teeth, and there will be no sense of disharmony. Because it is more transparent, one of its characteristics is that it can show a texture closer to real teeth.
③ Not easy to change the color
Zirconium oxide ceramic materials have high wear resistance and oxidation resistance and can not change color, rust, or cause any allergies.
Therefore, in previous ceramics, there are also changes in color after a few years, which looks different from the shiny teeth around. However, because zirconia is a very stable material, its function will not change for a long time even in such a harsh environment.
④ Wide range of treatments
Because it has high strength, it is widely used in the fields of electronics, machinery, energy, automobiles, chemicals, aerospace, etc., including crowns, fillings, bridges, and dental implants, which can be used without metal reinforcement. It can be said that it is a material that can treat a wide range of treatments.
⑤ No metal allergy
Because it has high strength, it does not need to be reinforced with metal. Therefore, people who are allergic to metal can also receive treatment.
In addition, even if it is not known whether it is a metal allergy at present, allergens (substances that cause allergies) will not accumulate for a long time, so the risk of metal allergy caused by dental treatment in the future will be reduced.
⑥ The feeling of use can be observed by temporary fixation
In the past, ceramics of all-ceramic teeth could not be temporarily fixed, so it became difficult to make fine adjustments. Therefore, even if there was a problem with the feeling of use, it would be considered a problem of personal habit.
However, because zirconia can be temporarily fixed, it can be properly fixed after confirming the feeling of use in this state, and it can be adjusted according to the situation.
⑦ Often there is a guarantee
When receiving zirconia treatment, many dentists will provide a guarantee for problems that occur within a certain period of time. However, the content and period of the guarantee vary, so you need to confirm it in advance.
Zirconia also has disadvantages
① There is a possibility of splitting
It is not the zirconia itself that splits, but the fine ceramic covering the surface that will break. The reason is that the fit between this ceramic and zirconia may be slightly weaker than that between ceramics and metals. For other people who bite their teeth hard, the strength of the ceramic part is lower than that of zirconia anyway, so it may break.
In any case, the probability is not that high, so don't worry too much.
② High treatment cost
The cost of zirconia treatment is relatively high compared to previous ceramics. It depends on the fine ceramic strength of the process.