Zirconia is made from zirconium oxide, which isn't a material that many people have heard of. If you ask most people whether they'd prefer a zirconia crown or a porcelain crown, they're likely to pick the latter just because the former material is less well known. Of course, this is no way to accurately judge which type of crown you should go for, especially since zirconia crowns come with a whole host of advantages over the more traditional choice of porcelain.
Here are just five reasons to choose zirconia over porcelain for your crown.
1. Zirconia Is Exceptionally Strong
The main advantage of zirconia over porcelain is that it is extremely durable. Your crown will have to cope with biting and chewing for years to come, so you need to pick a material that is going to hold up well against wear. Porcelain just isn't as tough, and it isn't as resistant to corrosion as zirconia, so you might want to rethink having a porcelain crown fitted.
2. Zirconia Is Great for Sensitive Teeth
If you find that your teeth have developed a hypersensitivity to heat, a nice warm cup of coffee can become more of an ordeal than a treat. Luckily enough, zirconia is made from crystal, which is very resistant to high temperatures. Since it doesn't conduct heat as easily as porcelain, zirconia won't exacerbate your sensitive teeth.
3. Zirconia Delivers a Natural Appearance
Zirconia crowns blend right in with your teeth. They are bonded right down instead of being fused to a metal plate, so no dark line is going to show up around the edges of the tooth, as would happen with porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. You can, admittedly, achieve the same effect with an all-porcelain crown, but these are quite fragile.
4. Zirconia Retains More of the Original Tooth
When a crown is strong, it means that less of it is needed. For this reason, having a zirconia crown fitted means less removal of the original tooth than you'd experience with porcelain crowns. It's obviously for the best to keep as much of the tooth as possible, and you'll also be able to fit zirconia crowns in places where not enough space is available for porcelain.
5. Zirconia is More Cost-Effective
Zirconia is a tougher material than porcelain, and it's made from crystal; you'd be forgiven for thinking zirconia crowns would demand a higher price than porcelain ones, but you'd be wrong. Zirconia crowns actually tend to be significantly cheaper than porcelain crowns, so they're as good for your bank balance as they are for your smile.
If you need emergency dental treatment for a crown or need crowns for the first time, make sure to talk with your dentist about these different materials.
Share21 November 2016
When I had my first child, I was a nervous wreck. Every book I read gave different advice, and I just wanted to be right! By the time I had my third child, some of the stress had abated. I now realised, there were tons of different perspectives on everything related to raising children including dentistry. To help parents, I have created this blog dedicated to unraveling dental myths about children. I am including posts that weigh both sides of issues such as thumb sucking, dental caries, breastfeeding, flossing and any other topic I can think of. I hope you find the information you need to unravel dental myths, but most importantly, I hope you find some peace of mind. With kids and dentistry, there can be more than one right answer, and I want you to be able to relax and go with the answer that's right for you.
