Ceramic Implants – right for you?

Years ago, the first dental implant I started using was actually made from an industrial sapphire.  In fact, I still have a few of them on my shelf.  Although the tissue compatibility and healing was actually far superior to the now more popular titanium implants, they were more brittle and had to be manufactured as one solid unit which made them much less versatile.  Consequently, they didn’t stay on the market for long.  But here’s the good news.  We now have multipart metal-free ceramic (zirconia, also known as zirconium dioxide) implants that exhibit the same superior biocompatibility as those old sapphire implants, but with the same strength and multi-part versatility as found with today’s standard titanium implants.  Best of both worlds!

The advantage of multi-part implants is that they allow us to place various shapes and angles of abutments (the part that sticks out of the gum tissue) on the implants (technically, that’s the part that is actually screwed into the jawbone).  This opens up many more possibilities both in terms of where we can place the implants as well as what we can put on them – crowns, bridges, dentures, partials, or various hybrid options.

Ceramic Implant Advantages

  • White – more cosmetic: This can be particularly advantageous for upper front teeth, especially for someone who tends to show more gum tissue, where the darker metal implants sometimes produce a greyish “shadow”.
  • Metal free: Being ceramic means that there is no possibility of metal corrosion.  While titanium corrosion does not appear to be a common problem, for some individuals it can be a concern.
  • Lower plaque affinity – Less plaque buildup means easier to clean resulting in less inflammation, better biome balance, and fewer pathogens in your blood stream.
  • Improved blood circulation – The blood circulation in the gingiva around zirconium dioxide is comparable to that around a natural tooth, while blood circulation in the gingiva around titanium is significantly lower.

 Ceramic Disadvantages

  • Higher cost – on unfortunate reality
  • Less prevalent – harder to find someone for repair or maintenance if traveling
  • Less versatile – still not as many options as for titanium

So, if new dental implants are on your radar, with all these advantages you might want to inquire whether ceramic ones would be a better fit for you.

 

Contagious Cavities!

It seems to be a well-established consensus that dental cavities are contagious, at least if you go by the nearly weekly stories I hear about family members all sharing the same dental fate.  The truth of the matter is that holes in teeth are not actually contagious.  However, the bacteria that cause cavities are!  The same is true for the bacteria that cause periodontal infection.  Any time saliva has a chance to be exchanged or passed on – kissing, sneezing, sharing cups, etc. – is a chance for the bacteria in the saliva to go hitch-hiking looking for a new susceptible host.  This is why parents, children, siblings, even classmates often have similar patterns of dental disease, making it look contagious.

Preventing Infection

So, what can you do to break the cycle and keep your teeth from rotting out?

  1. Be selective with whom you choose to share spit! Enough said.
  2. Take control of your susceptibility. Live a healthy anti-inflammatory lifestyle.  If you do this, those bad bugs won’t be able to find a comfortable place to live.  For more on how to do that, see my website – life and sign up for the free course I offer there.
  3. Do a better job of cleaning house. I am often shocked by how many well-educated people have no idea of what a poor job they do of cleaning their teeth.  A healthy person doing a decent job of brushing and flossing shouldn’t need me to clean their teeth any more than once a year or even two!  Capisce?
  4. Think you’re healthy and doing a good job?  Well let’s prove it.  Have your saliva tested and let’s see how well your oral biome really is balanced.

Bottom line – being cavity free doesn’t require good genes or good luck.  Just some simple common sense and honest accountability.  You can do it!