Safety of Dental Implant Materials

Frank, a dental patient, asks us:
I’m looking at having a 3 tooth/ 2 dental implant bridge replacing an old bridge on my top front teeth. Are there any known safety issues with titanium?

I have heard that zirconium is much more bio-compatable, with less problems in the later years after dental implant placement. Zirconium also seems to have a lower failure rate than that of titanium.

Incidentally, I’ve had a practicioner say to me, “There’s nothing wrong with titanium, the percentages are with you”. Howevever, when when I research the area I find that the percentages are not necessarily with me, and perhaps there are alternatives I’d like to get some feedback on the safety of titanium and other dental implant materials. Is Zirconium a better choice of material? Thanks.