Titanium or Zirconia Dental Implants?
Posted by writeradmin
I already have two dental implants and am about to get a third. However, I have one concern. I do my best to keep up with the latest in natural medicine. I’ve recently read an article that said that titanium can cause neurological problems. This has me worried. I can get a zirconia dental implant for my next one, but should I be concerned about the two previous ones? Is there a way to reverse any damage?
Suzie
Dear Suzie,
I’d love to know what article you read. I keep up with medical news quite carefully and have read nothing about any neurological effects due to titanium. In fact, the medical literature points to the opposite. Titanium is very biocompatible. Did this article site any medical studies and provide the links to the original source?
You will be fine getting either a zirconia or titanium dental implant for your next procedure. However, I do not recommend removing your previous two dental implants to replace them. Right now they are doing fine. In order to replace them, it would take several additional procedures. First, you’d need a surgery to remove the old implants. Next, you would have to have a bone grafting procedure done to build back up the bone that you lost when removing the dental implant. Then, after a period of healing, you can have a third surgery to replace the dental implants.
Bear in mind, with each of these additional procedures you need, you are giving the dental implants more opportunity to fail. If you ever lose your implants for some other reasons, then sure, go ahead and replace them with the zirconia. However, I don’t recommend you do it unnecessarily.
Bear in mind that not all dentists are offering zirconia yet. They’re still relatively new compared to their titanium counterparts. Many dentists just like to stick with what has always worked for them. However, you will be able to find a dentist if you choose to go that direction. I would start by looking for dentists who consider themselves metal-free dentists. That simply means they offer more metal-free alternatives than other dentists.
This blog is brought to you by Franklin, TN Dentist Dr. Christopher Weber.
