I want to get dental implants but I would like the zirconia ones. It is important to me that I don’t put metal in my body. However, my dentist says the titanium ones are better. Is that true?
Monica
Dear Monica,
There is a growing availability of metal free dental care.
I would not say that the titanium are better. It is more that they have been around longer and therefore we have more data on their longevity and potential side effects. There are some dentists that prefer to stick with what they know. You will be able to find a dentist who offers the zirconia. I would do an internet search for either a metal free dentist or a holistic dentist. Either one of them will be willing to give you zirconia implants.
The important thing will be that you find a dentist who has dental implant training. It won’t matter which kind you have if the procedure fails. You’ll want to be certain they have some post-doctoral training in placing implants.
I am not trying to sway you either way with which implants to use, but I wanted to clear a couple of things up that I hope will put your mind at ease. The first is about metal and your body. Our body naturally has metal in it. One major example is the iron you find in our blood. In fact, that is so important that is you don’t have enough iron, it can cause serious negative health effects, including heart failure.
As for titanium, it is one of the most biocompatible metals there are. We’ve been using it for decades for prosthetics. Not just dental implants, but things like hip replacements. It is very rare for someone to have a reaction to titanium.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.