Zirconium is rapidly becoming the material of choice for dental crowns. It is a remarkably robust material able to withstand the wear and tear of every day use. More importantly however, it has a translucency that is very similar to that of a natural tooth. Light is reflected from a Zirconium crown in much the same way.

Dental quality Zirconium is however expensive. To overcome this cost barrier some manufacturers have chosen to produce crowns, which use a lower grade of Zirconium in order to offer a cheaper product. Recent authoritative studies have however shown that these cheaper crowns are insufficiently resilient to withstand even normal use without cracking.