I’ve been sick for years. I finally went to a doctor who would listen to me and he ran a bunch of tests. He determined I have a severe metal allergy. I convinced my dentist to remove my amalgam fillings and switch them with composites. I even had my dental crowns switched to all-porcelain crowns. The only thing that’s left is one dental implant. Yet, my dentist insists nothing can be done about that. He also says that he knows of no patients who have a metal allergy to titanium. That being said, I do have an allergy to titanium. So… is there anything I can do or am I stuck with something I’m allergic to? I know I could get a bridge, but I really like having an implant. It’s like having a real tooth again.
Corinna
Dear Corinna,
Zirconia is metal-free and dubbed “ceramic steel”
I’m sorry for all you’ve suffered and very glad to hear you found a doctor who actually listened to you! I’ve had friends with mysterious illnesses themselves and they struggled to find medical practitioners who would listen to them. When they finally did, it was like a balm to their bodies and encouragement to their spirits.
I don’t know where your dentist has been, but there are metal-free dental implants. Zirconia hasn’t been used in implants for as long as their titanium forbearers, but they’ve had remarkable success and are as strong. In fact, they’re often nicknamed ceramic steel because of their strength.
I’m not telling you to leave your dentist but I do think you’d be better served by a dentist who keeps up with dental developments. It’s their job to give you all your options. To do that well, they actually need to know them.
Replacing Titanium Implants with Metal-Free Dental Implants
I know you’ve decided against getting a porcelain bridge. That’s absolutely fine. I understand why you’d want to keep the comfort and convenience of implants. I just want to be certain you have all the information. It’s not simply a matter of taking out the current dental implant and replacing it with the zirconia one. You won’t have enough bone to just pop in the new one.
You’ll start with removing your current implant. The next step will be to have bone grafting done. That’s now a one-day procedure, which is quite simple. The technology has greatly improved. Once your bone grafting is healed, then you can start your new dental implant procedure. It will take a skilled dentist to do all of these procedures correctly, so do your research on the dentist’s training and success rate.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. David Pumphrey.
