Zirconia tooth implant question

[BLS]

I had an upper molar (#14) extracted 4 months ago and am considering an implant. However, I am concerned about the safety of titanium implants after reading some academic journal articles about the risks associated with titanium corrosion (immune reactions, titanium debris making their way to other parts of the body and lymph nodes).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0300571294902003
http://www.actaodontologicalat.com/archivo/v22n1/fulltext/articulo1.pdf
http://goo.gl/Gul1C9
http://goo.gl/TKDsvb
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18561292

Is zirconia a good alternative to titanium? I know there hasn't been a lot of long-term studies on zirconia dental implants, but I'd like to find out if anything conclusively negative has been found about the safety of efficacy of zirconia implants.

Have zirconia implants been approved by the American Dental Association and other regulating agencies?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BLS]

Forgot to ask what the ADA and other dental organizations think about these studies on corrosion and titanium. In light of these findings is titanium still a safer bet than zirconia?

Which would you choose if it's for yourself and your family and why?

 

[BLS]

Bumping up and hoping someone might be able to answer my question.

 

[Zuri Barniv]

The articles you cite are not all relevant as some discuss the interaction with an implant and the pieces that fit on top of it to make a crown. Others discuss theoretical problems with implant corrosion or under what conditions corrosion can occur. I did not have time to review them in detail but am not sure the one or two there actually discussing the health implications are from reputable peer-reviewed journals. All of them fail to cite ANY real health problems but only discuss the potential for them. Zirconia is not without issues, but the main one is the lack of studies over a long period of time. Zirconia implants are FDA approved and I don't know that the ADA has a specific position on anything like that. But keep in mind that just because the FDA approves something, it doesn't mean they have done long-term studies on every possible scenario or that they guarantee it is perfectly healthy.

Suffice it to say that Grade-1 titanium (the kind implants are made from) remains one of the most biocompatible materials available and I have placed them in my friends and family without hesitation. I discuss materials more in my blog, if interested.
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