If you have a missing teeth or a tooth that's discoloured , root canal treatment (RCT) ,wearing down, fractured or chipped, your dentist will likely recommend capping it with a dental crown. Also known as a cap, a dental crown is most often a tooth-colored prosthetic designed to cover a damaged tooth in a fixed position. Once inserted, a crown can strengthen the tooth, improving its overall appearance and alignment in the mouth.It will be made from one, or a mixture, of various materials like acrylic, metal, composite, ceramic – a popular choice being zirconia.
Zirconia is a metal oxide derived from zirconium, a metal in the titanium family, and one of several newer materials that combine metal's strength with the aesthetic, tooth-like appeal of ceramic.
At Dr Chopra Dental Clinic we highly recommend zirconia crown for capping due to its advantages over other dental materials, but then the type of crown used varies with the case and choice of the patient. When choosing the material that's right for you, you'll want to consider multiple factors like the visibility of the tooth, the cost, the strength, and how it looks. Here we are highlighting advantages of choosing zirconia crowns.
Advantages of zirconia /metal free crown
1. Zirconia mimics the color and features of the natural tooth hence therfore have
better chewing efficacy and highly esthetic than ceramic crown.
2. Zirconia crowns are 100% metal-free, which prevents gingival darkening and removes the possibility of exposing metallic margins if gingival recession begins.
3. Zirconia unless ceramic crown are not ferromagnetic metals - making it perfectly safe to undergo an MRI with them in your mouth. Even so, it's best to alert your doctor that you have dental crowns if you need an MRI.
4. Zirconia offers superior strength and durability than the conventionally used ceramic crown.
5. Zirconia crowns are made using computer-aided design and manufacturing processes thus reducing the chairtime/visits required to adjust and cement these restorations.
6. Zirconia crown can be customized to the patient need hence minimizes the margin for error and ensures excellent fit for each individual.
7. Zirconia crowns tend to cause less stress and damage on opposing teeth than their porcelain/ceramic counterparts.
8. Zirconia crowns gets fewer sharp edges from the normal "wear and tear" that happens over time.
9. Zirconia crowns are highly glazed & polished restoration, as the smooth surface helps to reduce plaque/calculus accumulation.
10. Zirconia is highly biocompatible material and hence crown made of zirconia will not cause an allergic reaction in patients who have sensitivities to metal/ceramic restorations.
11. Because zirconia as a material is extremely strong, it can be thin, which means that tooth preparation/cutting can be more conservative which will save more patient’s natural teeth.
12. Zirconia is more split-resistant, stiffer, and stronger. These properties hinder cracking and chipping, both on the surrounding teeth and the one underneath the crown.
13. Zirconia dental crowns are the strongest restoration material available. They can last for years a with proper care and routine dental checkups.
14. Zirconia crown comes with limited warranty.