The best dental crown

[Amir]

Hello

I have a back tooth that has recently broken whilst I was eating a sandwich and I have been told by my dentist that the tooth needs a dental crown. It used to have a really big filling that was done abroad and the dentist told me at the time that the tooth will eventually need a crown.

My dentist has given me the choice of having a white, gold or silver crown placed on my tooth. I am not sure which option would be best for my tooth but I am looking into the differences between these crowns to see which will the best dental crown for my tooth.

Could you explain the pros and cons of different types of crowns available so that I could have a better idea about the best type of crown to have for my tooth. Could you explain the differences in cost for these different types of dental crowns.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

There are many different types of dental crowns. Broadly speaking there are three main types: Gold crowns, metal ceramic crowns and all ceramic crowns.

Gold crowns are very strong and very resistant to fracture but due to their colour are mainly used on back molar teeth. They require the least tooth reduction of the three types of crowns mentioned. I often use this type of crown on the very back teeth.

Metal ceramic crowns are strong and at the same times have reasonable aesthetics. I would argue that their aesthetics is not as good as all ceramic crowns although some skilled lab technicians can make very aesthetic metal ceramic crowns. Although the core of this type of crown is very strong, the ceramic can fracture exposing the metal underneath.

All ceramic crowns often have a core made from Zirconium and as Zirconium is white, these crowns have a superior aesthetic result compared to the other types of crowns mentioned. I tend to use a lot of these crowns these days especially on front teeth. Again the risk with this type of crown is that the ceramic can fracture exposing the Zirconium core below.

In terms of tooth reduction, all ceramic crowns and metal ceramic crowns require similar amount of tooth reduction. Gold crowns require the least tooth reduction compared to all of the crown types mentioned.