Ceramic (zirconia) implants
Also known as: Zirconia implant, Ceramic dental implant, Metal-free implant
Implants made from zirconium dioxide ceramic rather than titanium, available mainly as one-piece designs and, more recently, as two-piece systems.
Key facts
| Material | Zirconium dioxide (zirconia) ceramic, in several types and generations with differing mechanical propertiesVerified spec[1] |
|---|---|
| Clinical evidence | The 7th ITI Consensus Conference (Lisbon, 2023) reported a mean survival of 97.2% (range 93.8–100%) at five years, described as comparable to published data for titanium-based implantsVerified spec[1] |
| Classification | The available evidence applies mainly to one-piece zirconia implants restored with single crowns and three-unit implant fixed dental prostheses; only limited data exist for two-piece designs, based on a single retrospective studyVerified spec[1] |
| Limitations | Several types and generations of zirconia implant exist with different mechanical properties, and not all of them have been validated in clinical studies, so findings apply to the designs tested rather than to zirconia implants in generalVerified spec[1] |
| Typical use | Usually discussed for patients who prefer to avoid a metal implant, or where a thin, translucent gum makes a grey shadow from a titanium implant a concern. |
Overview
Ceramic implants are made of zirconium dioxide instead of titanium, and are the main alternative for patients who want to avoid metal or who have very thin gum tissue where a titanium body might show through as a shadow. The evidence has improved: the ITI consensus of 2023 put mean five-year survival at 97.2%, comparable with published titanium figures. Two qualifications carry most of the weight. First, nearly all of that evidence concerns one-piece implants carrying single crowns or short bridges — two-piece ceramic systems rest on much thinner data. Second, "zirconia" is not one material: generations differ in their mechanical properties, and a result obtained with one design does not transfer automatically to another. Anyone comparing a ceramic implant with a titanium one should be comparing named systems, not materials in the abstract.
Sources
Numbers match the citations beside each claim above.
Clinical evidence
- [1]Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Zirconia Dental Implants — ITI Consensus Statement — International Team for Implantology (ITI), 2023. Accessed 2026-07-21.