Metal-free crowns and bridges

The zirconium

Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40.
It is a lustrous, gray-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium.
Zirconium is used as an alloying agent due to its high resistance to corrosion. It is never found as a native metal, but is instead obtained mainly from the mineral zircon, which can be purified by chlorine. Zirconium was first isolated in an impure form in 1824 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius.
Zirconium has no known biological role. Zirconium forms both inorganic and organic compounds, such as zirconium dioxide and zirconocene dibromide, respectively. There are five naturally-occurring isotopes, three of which are stable.
Zirconium is a lustrous, grayish-white, soft, ductile, and malleable metal which is solid at room temperature,though it becomes hard and brittle at lower purities.In powder form, zirconium is highly flammable, but the solid form is far less prone to igniting. Zirconium is highly resistant to corrosion by alkalis, acids, salt water, and other agents. However, it will dissolve in hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, especially when fluorine is present. Alloys with zinc become magnetic below 35 K.

Crowns and bridges

Zirconia is an innovative system for esthetic metal-free crowns and bridges. The reliability of zircon restorations is backed by more than five years of proven clinical success. The system is used to fabricate anterior or posterior single units or multi-unit bridge restorations out of translucent, biocompatible zirconia, the strongest and toughest dental ceramic.
Milled crown made of zircon crystal or so-called zircon crown is the most modern solution of tooth-crowning. Also this solution includes a basic construction that is milled of zircon crystal and it is then covered with plastic porcelain. Advantage of this method is the fact that zircon ceramic is very firm and it can be applied to more serious dentition defects, i.e. loss of 3-4 neighbouring teeth.

The technology

Zirconium-ceramic crowns are made by CAD/CAM technology.
This innovative system combines the durability of porcelain fused to metal bridges with the aesthetic appearance of metal-free crowns. This system is based on the material zirconium-oxide.
Nowadays we can hear more and more about the probable allergic effects of metals applied in dentistry. Therefore the use of a material having the same good mechanical properties as metals but doesn't affect allergic reactions in human organism became necessary. While zirconium oxide does not have any allergic effects described in scientific publications, this material can be told as "biocompatible". It appertains to his good qualities that it conducts heat very badly, so the patients do not complain about cold or heat sensitiveness. This material is produced with the help of the most modern CAD/CAM computer technologies. Zirconium oxide crowns and bridges are the most aesthetic solutions.

The traditional crowns have a porcelain layer burnt on a metal cap, so its light permeability is weak. The light permeability of porcelain crowns burnt on zirconium oxide look like the own natural teeth. Because there aren't any metal caps, the dark metal frame-edge of the crown will not be visible if the gums may draw back in after years.

The advantages of zirconium - ceramic crowns and bridges: