Questions and answers on titanium-ceramic dental restorative systems: a literature study

Titanium ceramics has become a topic of interest for prosthetic applications, thanks to the documented biocompatibility of commercially pure titanium. A number of concepts have been presented, including metal frameworks produced by casting or milling and a number of materials and methods for veneering. However, the concept has not reached a clinical breakthrough since failures have been reported from clinical experiences.

A PubMed search on the following key words was performed: titanium ceramics, long-term results.

This review illustrates the fact that it is possible to have success with titanium ceramics on crucial criteria: fit and marginal adaptation, bond strength between metal and ceramics, and esthetic outcome. A review of clinical studies indicates a tendency for success rates to increase with time, which must be explained as a normal learning curve for a technical concept. The learning curve also includes development of materials and methods and the fact that there is a certain amount of technique sensitivity involved in the success rate for titanium ceramics.

There is reason to believe that the outstanding clinical properties of titanium will further catalyze the development of titanium ceramics, and recent experiences clearly indicate that titanium ceramics, being a clinical product ready for use in fixed partial dentures, might already today challenge standard metal ceramics.