A Look Back at…Biocompatibility & Dental Implants

Updated from the original post for August 4, 2016

Replace a Tooth by Mimicking Your Body’s Nature

As we say on our home page, perfection is our passion – which is perhaps the biggest reason why Dr. Attar consistently pursues additional training and education. You can’t achieve perfection without being a perpetual student.

In fact, there’s a quote well-known in dental circles, by a fellow named G.V. Black, who’s considered the father of operative dentistry: “The professional man has no right other than to be a continuous student.”

Among the best learning opportunities Dr. Attar has had over the past year was a seminar in San Francisco that focused on replacing missing teeth with zirconia (ceramic) implants.

As a biological office, we constantly strive to use the most compatible materials for our patients. We know many of you have worked hard to eliminate metals from your mouth. We also believe when you’re looking for a way to replace your missing tooth, you shouldn’t have to compromise. While many offices place conventional metal alloy implants (usually titanium), we use only ceramic for the dental implants we place.

Here are 6 reasons why:

1. Biocompatibility

   While any material placed in the body has the potential to react, zirconia appears to be very biocompatible for most patients. The firm bond that establishes itself between the bone and the ceramic implant is believed to be bio-inert. This means your body doesn’t react with an inflammatory response as it would with a foreign body.

   In contrast, research shows titanium-based implants both corrode and degrade, generating metallic debris. This debris may have harmful biological effects over time, including the development of renal hepatic injury and renal lesions.

   Additionally, an increasing number of individuals with titanium implants, dental or orthopedic, present with allergies, sensitivities and other skin and immune reactions that necessitate removing the implant from the body. These reactions happen over time with continued exposure to the metal. An allergy or reaction to a dental implant may cause pain, inflammation, infection, bone loss and implant removal. Material testing for implant materials should be considered, especially metals.

2. Maintenance

   Regardless of the type of implant material you select, much attention should be giving to keeping the gum tissue around it clean. Like teeth, implants can fail if bacteria accumulate along the gum. To complicate the matter, tissue doesn’t attach to an implant in the same way it attaches to your natural teeth.

   But research indicates the lack of electric conductivity in ceramic implants makes it harder for bacteria to stick. This makes it easier to maintain healthy tissue with proper cleaning technique. And unlike a bridge, which can be hard to floss effectively, an implant, for all practical purposes, is like a tooth. You can, and should, floss like you do with your natural teeth.

3. Meridian flow

   Because they’re biologically inert, zirconia implants may offer the best option for maintaining meridian flow from tooth to organ, and organ to tooth. This is especially important to those who employ the principles of acupuncture and pay particular attention to their body’s meridian flow and blockage.

   Not familiar with this concept? You can learn more about it here.

4. Esthetics

   In contrast to titanium implants’ grey color, ceramic implants are white. This may not seem like a big deal because, let’s face it, they’re implanted in the gums. But in patients with gum tissue recession or thin gums, the grey cast of titanium can become visible. Ceramic implants, on the other hand, retain a natural look with no grey shadow or show through.

5. Biomimicry in Design

   Ceramic implants have been optimally designed to mimic your natural tooth. Like your tooth, ceramic implants are a one-piece design. There’s no abutment connected with a fixation screw as you commonly see in titanium implant designs.

6. Functionality

   When you’re looking at replacing a tooth, you want it to be successful. You don’t want to have to revisit this tooth again. To succeed, it must hold up with how you use your mouth, especially the forces of chewing. By creating the diameter and length to that of natural teeth, ceramic implants are foundationally tempered to withstand chewing force.

Any way you look at it – functionally, aesthetically, holistically – when opting for implants, ceramic is clearly the best option for mimicking your natural teeth.