Zirconia as a restorative material
Introduction/Context/Diagnosis
Zirconium, a naturally occurring element, when combined with oxygen becomes Zirconia, an extremely strong and biocompatible material that can be suitably used in dentistry. This literature review analyzes zirconia as a dental restorative material for crowns, bridges and implants.
Methods/Treatment Plan
A systematic search was conducted through PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar to identify literature from 2011 to 2016. In addition, a hand search of relevant dental journals was performed and reference lists of culled articles were screened to identify publications. The University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry Lab was also contacted to gain current information about the uses of zirconia here at the dental school.
Results/Outcome
Currently, 3mol% yttrium – stabilized zirconia, in pure tetragonal phase can be used as a restorative material for crowns, bridges and implants. Zirconia is differentiated from other ceramics by its transformation toughening property. The traditionally opaque material is now being processed to increase its translucency so that the material will be more acceptable in esthetic areas of the mouth. Furthermore using specific bonding systems to create surface roughness along with dual cured resin cements has proven to increase bond strength. From a biological point of view, all ceramic metal-free implants has demonstrated ultrabiocompatibility, less inflammatory infiltrate, excellent esthetics and a low affinity for bacterial plaque. Early failure rates of zirconia implant systems developed and tested so far were generally higher compared to titanium implants.
Significance/Conclusions
Monolithic zirconia will become a dominant choice for the majority of crown and bridge restorations. Zirconia restorations do not match the bond strengths with that of lithium disilicate restorations and hence this is an area for further development for the use of this material. More clinical investigations with regards to zirconia implants need to be carried out to identify all relevant technical and biological factors with impact on success and patient satisfaction.
Location
University of the Pacific, Dugoni Dental School, San Francisco, CA
Format
Poster
Poster Session
IDS Student Presentations
Zirconia as a restorative material
University of the Pacific, Dugoni Dental School, San Francisco, CA
Zirconium, a naturally occurring element, when combined with oxygen becomes Zirconia, an extremely strong and biocompatible material that can be suitably used in dentistry. This literature review analyzes zirconia as a dental restorative material for crowns, bridges and implants.
