The name of Zirconium crown is coming from its stock: zirconium – dioxid.
Crowns which are shown below can be made with special treatments:

All crowns – the zirconium and also the traditional porcelain - have a strong internal frame, which makes it possible to bridge a tooth or teeth with that strong structure.

Originally the frame was made of metal alloy. As the base of the crowns become darker and when the gingiva recedes the metal frame can be seen. 

The first picture illustrates the metal selvedge, showing the consequencial caries by the neck of the tooth.  The second picture is an enlarged one from the same tooth:

Now the new material, zirconium - dioxide, makes it possible to replace the metal frames.
In our clinic zirconium crowns are made by using the Zirkonzahn technology. During the process, the initial formable materials (zirconium - dioxide) become stronger than metal. So we get the strong inside frame of the crowns.

Zirconium crowns offer a remarkable aesthetic advantage. Light is able to get through porcelain veneers and also the frame. So it is completely transparent like natural teeth. Therefore, this material offers the perfect solution.

Let's take a look at that transparency in the next picture:

During the recovery time you will notice two of the major advantages of zirconium crowns. It slows down the gum recession and increases the life of the teeth compared to conventional metal - porcelain crowns.

Since there is no metal in it, the risk of allergies can be excluded. The excellent properties of zirconium dioxide, crowns completely fit to the cervical part of the gums and its surface. Therefore, with correct and regular care the common cause of gum recession by gingival infections and inflammations, can be elliminated.


The following pictures show how the gingival part of the crown fits exactly by the gum:

The disadvantage of the older traditional metal free technology was that only one crown could be made.  With the Zirkonzahn technology, used in our clinic, we can replace several missing teeth by making longer bridges.

All things considered, it can be said that today's prosthodontics high-tech crown is this zirconium!

Let's look at some examples where we used zirconium crown to restore the teeth:
(Moving the mouse over the pictures you can see the explanation.)