Materials for Dental Restorations – Dr Genchevi Dental Care

Different types of materials are used in dental restorations. As science and technology advance, new compounds and new methods of using them are discovered, and old ones – discarded. For simplicity’s sake, two broad classes of materials can be defined: those that have metal and those that don’t. Within each class there are higher grade materials and lower grade materials. All materials considered below are used in both crowns and bridges, hence, in implants as well (as they are topped with a normal crown or a bridge).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these types of materials?

The materials listed above are best characterized along the following criteria: durability, biocompatibility, aesthetics and cost. We tried our best to present the information summarized and understandable at a glance and we came up with this table, describing each material along the four characteristics along with a visual guide.

Material	Durability	Biocompatibility	Aesthetics	Cost
Pure metal	Highest	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest
Metal-plastic	High	Low	Low	Low
Metal-ceramic	High	Low	Average	Average
Pure ceramic	Average	High	High	High
Zirconia	High	Highest	Highest	Highest

How to read the table: The assessment scale goes from Lowest to Highest and is a rough guide to the qualities of each material. Only one Lowest and one Highest rank is assigned per criterion. The other ranks may repeat and they should only serve as a rough guide to the qualities of the material. There are technical details which can differentiate two materials with the same rank, but we would rather not go into these here. The visual guide is for your convenience and it goes from darker red (not good for you or expensive) to darker green (good for you or cheap). Under the Pure Metal category in the table we are not considering gold restorations, because their high cost and low aesthetics make them a rare choice and set them aside from other metal restorations.

Durability: Measured by the amount of pressure and bending that a dental reconstruction made of the material in question can withstand. It is important because the chewing pressure to which teeth are exposed is very high. Reconstructions with materials that are not as durable as others, like pure ceramic, are more suitable for front teeth than rear teeth, which do most of the chewing.
Biocompatibility: Indicates how friendly the material is to your body. Highly biocompatible materials coexist with living tissues without causing any harm. Materials with low biocompatibility may be injurious and cause an immunological response in living tissue.
Aesthetics: measures how visually pleasing and natural the restoration with the respective material will be.
Cost: This one is self-explanatory.

For more detailed information, please feel free to contact us.