New Zirconia Crowns May Replace The Metal Standard in Dentistry...

Recent developments in dental science suggest that the metal that oral surgeons have relied upon for decades for their crowns may be on the way out the door. A recent study sponsored by Noritake Dental Supply, Limited in Japan tested the durability of porcelain-fused-to-Zirconia (PFZ) versus the industry standard, porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM). Durability tests were conducted from 2 months to 57 months and involved over two thousand patients and 22 dentists.

The study showed that after the mean survival time for posterior crowns (52 months), the probability for a PFZ crown to remain intact was 98.1%, where as the survival rate was only 95.8% for PFM crowns. This may not seem like a major difference, but ceramics manufacturers who specialize in Zirconia might see a boon to their businesses in the coming years as the Dental industry decides whether or not it will migrate to this new technology or stay with the PFM crowns that have served the profession for years.

The 22 practitioners were able to replicate these findings in different environments across three continents, and the results were the same regardless of oral location, whether molar or premolar. A total of 2,635 premolar and molar crowns were tested, and with the exception of the 1.9% of the PFZ crowns that failed, the results were almost unanimous: While the difference in the survival rate seems negligible, porcelain-fused-to-Zirconia crowns were superior to porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. As medical technology continues to evolve, the demand for high-durability ceramics will continue to grow. Opportunities for expansion are on the horizon.