Scientific documents - material properties

Properties

Zirconia was discovered in 1789 by the German chemist M. H. Klaproth. However, this “wonder material” possessing outstanding properties was rediscovered only in the last decades. Thus zirconia was introduced into dental medicine in different versions as replacement for metal. This material possesses extraordinary properties such as high bending strength (above 1000 MPa), hardness (1200–1400 Vickers) and Weibull Modulus (10–12). Zirconia is partially stabilized by yttrium, which results in these positive properties. The bending strength of zirconia is increased further by the addition of aluminium oxide. Zirconia is used for the fabrication of kitchen knives, industrial cutting tools and thermomechanically highly stressed parts in the automotive and aircraft industry. In addition to its great strength, it is highly biocompatible. For this reason zirconia is used in medicine (auditory, finger and hip prostheses) and dental medicine (posts, crown and bridge restorations, implants, implant abutments). The colour of zirconia similar to teeth and its biotechnical characteristics allow the manufacture of biocompatible, qualitatively high-grade and aesthetic tooth and implant reconstructions. Beside many animal-experimental studies regarding basic suitability of dental zirconia implants the successful implantation of dental Zirconia implants has been documented in a row of clinical studies. Dental zirconia implants are used successfully for over 5 years in an increasing number of clinical cases.