Are ceramic implants hypoallergenic? What is meant by hypoallergenicity?

'Hypoallergenic' means that a substance or material causes less allergic reactions than others or are less likely to produce allergic reactions than others (see FDA website). However, there is no medical definition of this term, despite this term is used in various scientific publications. As the FDA states: “There are no Federal standards or definitions that govern the use of the term 'hypoallergenic'.

The case studies and case reports show that dental implants made of zirconia used for restoration were successful in patients showing allergic hypersensitivity reactions to the previously placed titanium implant. Although hypersensitivity reactions to titanium appear to be rare (prevalence of 0.6% in dental implant patients (Sicilia et al. 2008), this issue needs to be considered and zirconia implants can be regarded as suitable alternative. This statement is confirmed by the above-mentioned reviews and by “The German S3 guideline on titanium hypersensitivity in implant dentistry”, where it is concluded that “In the case of a suspected titanium particle-related, local immunologically induced inflammatory reaction with subsequent impaired osseous integration, dental ceramic implants can be considered as a therapeutic option.” (Müller‑Heupt et al. 2022).

References

Müller‑Heupt LK, Schiegnitz E, Kaya S et al. The German S3 guideline on titanium hypersensitivity in implant dentistry: consensus statements and recommendations. Int J Implant Dent. 2022;8:51. doi:10.1186/s40729-022-00451-1

Sicilia A, Cuesta S, Coma G et al. Titanium allergy in dental implant patients: a clinical study on 1500 consecutive patients. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2008 19(8):823-835. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0501.2008.01544.x