A dental implant, called CeraRoot, is an all ceramic dental implant (non-metal). This implant was FDA approved in 2011 and is made of zirconium. Zirconium has been used for crowns in dentistry and is known for its strength and durability under pressure.
Many patients like the idea of non-metal implants and this offers them an alternative to some of the excellent titanium dental implants on the market. CeraRoot Implants are one piece and tooth colored.
(photo from Ceraroot)
Whereas, this may sound good to patients, it can pose some problems to dental implant dentists in terms of not being very versatile with options to place crowns on these implants. With titanium implants, the top portion (abutment) is screwed into the implant and custom abutments can be made to fit many different situations, angles, esthetic and restorative options.
My personal thoughts are the CeraRoot is nice for some situations but not for all. Case selection for the CeraRoot needs to be very selective to ensure restorative and cosmetic success. I am excited to have CeraRoot on the market and as an option for patients.
In addition to being metal free, another advantage of the CeraRoot is that there is no microleakage at the implant/abutment connection which can cause microleakage and bone loss around the implant.
In overview, the CeraRoot dental implant is another tool that update dental implant dentists can have in their armentarium. If you have any questions about Houston Dental Implant Dentist or Houston Dental Implants, please feel free to call our office, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF, 713-668-2289