Zirconia Crowns

What is Zirconia Crowns?

These are dental crowns or dental filling made of Zirconia that are used to cap or encircle the teeth due to the presence of a large cavity. Zirconia crowns are fitted onto the affected teeth to improve the strength of the teeth.

Zirconia is a metal, which is known for its durability, making it ideal for making dental crowns. It is mainly used to crown the posterior teeth that need strength to chew and grind the food that we eat.

Advantages of Zirconia Crowns

Most of the dentists around the world usually recommend Zirconia Crowns for the following advantages:

• Exceptionally tough and hard nature.
• Ability to combat the frequent wear and tear.
• Closer resemblance to natural teeth since it is translucent.
• Existing tooth need not be removed, thus minimal preparation is required and the tooth is preserved.
• Helps in covering up the traces of damage or staining.
• Its shape can be modified easily.
• Metal fuse is not required.
• Provides a good aesthetic effect.
• More robust than most of the other materials that are used as dental crowns.

Disadvantages of Zirconia Crowns

The hardness of Zirconia Crowns have caused a few disadvantages as mentioned below:

• Some dentists prefer crowns made from other materials due to its very hard nature.
• The abrasion of this tough material causes wear and tear between the crown and the root of the tooth as well as other teeth.

Procedure to fix Zirconia Crowns

The dentists usually follow a two-step approach to fix the Zirconia crowns on the damaged tooth or teeth.

1.Preparation

In this stage, the dentist will first assess the affected tooth for the extent of damage and then measure for the crown. The dentist will then clean the affected tooth and then reshape the tooth using a small drill.
A tiny piece of the tooth is then extracted under anaesthesia to help ensure the right shape for the crown. The dentist will then create a mould using dental putty by asking the patient to bite into it. This mould will help in the
fabrication of the new crown.


2.Fixing of Crown

The dentist will fix the crown onto the patient’s tooth in this stage. The affected tooth that is to be fitted with the crown is first roughened using dental acid. This creates scratches or fissures on the tooth’s surface that will help in bonding the new crown to the teeth.
The crown is then fitted onto the tooth. The dentist will then adjust the position properly and then cements to its place. Then a final polish is also given for the new tooth effect.

Maintenance of Zirconia Crowns

The maintenance of the Zirconia crowns is similar to that of normal teeth. It requires regular brushing and flossing to eliminate the bacteria that can cause decay to the remaining teeth under the crown.

Authored By Dr Sanjay N - Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Bangalore