I have lost some teeth in the back of my mouth. I need to repalce them. My dream is to get dental implants and I have the money. The problem is I have severe metal allergies and I know they are done with metal implants. Are there any options which are metal free?
Candace
Dear Candace,
I’m glad you wrote. There is definitely a way for you to get dental implants, even with your metal allergies. First, I would check to see which metals are an issue for you. Traditional dental implants are made from titanium which are considered very biocompatible.
They’ve been used for years in the human body with things like hip replacements. It may be your body won’t have an issue with titanium.
However, if you are allergic to titanium there is now a metal-free option. Zirconia implants are gaining in popularity. Nicknamed liquid steel, zirconia is very strong.
Titanium Versus Zirconia Dental Implants
Both are strong and can provide for you a healthy tooth replacement. The only real hesitation many dentists have about using them over their titanium counterparts is the fact that they are newer.
We have lots of evidence and documentation on how long the titanium implants will last. They’ve got a great track record.
Because the zirconia implants are new, we don’t have any track record we can refer to. It’s likely they’ll last just as long as their titanium counterparts, but we don’t have the evidence yet.
Cosmetic Considerations with Dental Implants
This won’t affect you, but I’m going to bring it up for the benefit of others who may be reading this. If you are getting a dental implant for a tooth which is visible when you smile, you want to think long term.
The color the dental crown will be made when it is created is permanent. If you’re happy with the color of your teeth than that should be no problem. However, if you’ve considered whitening them, it is important you do the teeth whitening before your dental crown is made. This way it can be made to match the white color of your teeth.
If you wait and whiten your teeth later, the crown will have to be re-made in order to get them to match, costing you more money.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.