Zirconia implants: Could they be the future?

WGYAG ePOSTER CLINICAL RESEARCH – PERI-IMPLANT BIOLOGY

Background: Dental implants have become one of the most sought-after procedures within the last decades. Inevitably, this has aroused tremendous demands in aesthetics and function, whereas the prevalence of peri-implant pathology and its consequences are ever more evident. Zirconia implants appear with an increasing frequency in clinical practice, especially due to the accretive number of papers published on titanium corrosion those recent years.

Aim/Hypothesis: The aim of this presentation is to introduce the concept of and current knowledge status on zirconia implants, as well as evidence that support their clinical applications within certain limits.

Materials and Methods: An extensive review of the current literature was conducted on the online databases PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library, as well as some scientific books.

Results: Zirconia implants are particularly useful in the esthetic zone, since their color does not reflect through the tissues. Moreover, many patients refuse to have metal parts inserted in their organism. Those implants demonstrate a high degree of biocompatibility, tissue integration, as well as low affinity to plaque and favorable biomechanical properties. Their mechanical stability can be reinforced by polycrystals of yttrium. As far as their disadvantages are concerned, early failures seem to be more frequent in comparison to titanium implants. Moreover, technical failures, such as fractures occur. In preclinical studies, the short-term results are very promising, although early bone loss appears to be slightly increased. This observation is present in clinical studies as well. However, surface modifications seem to have a positive impact on bone apposition.

Conclusions and Clinical Implications: Overall, all current data and available meta-analyses demonstrate a very promising tool to be furtherly studied in the future, as there is a lack of long-term success and survival rates.

Keywords: Zirconia, Implants, Titanium corrosion, Zirconia implants