Dental Crowns

[Becca]

Hi

I have two dental crowns on my back lower left molar teeth that I have had for over 20 years. Unfortunately most of the porcelain on these porcelain crowns has now fractured off and an ugly metal is showing when I smile.

Also when I run my tongue on these dental crowns the surface seems very rough and sometimes I bite my tongue when I am chewing food on these porcelain crowns.

Do you think these crowns should be replaced and if so are there any modern types of dental crowns available that are stronger and better looking than my current crowns?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. Its difficult to tell you accurately what to do with your dental crowns without seeing you first. I would recommend that you book a consultation for a more accurate diagnosis. I will assume that you currently have metal ceramic dental crowns.

Broadly speaking if a lot of porcelain has broken off metal ceramic dental crowns and left the rough metal parts exposed, then the dental crowns should be replaced.

There are many options open to you but probably your best options for replacement of these crowns are:

1. Zirconium core ceramic crowns. These dental crowns are very aesthetic and at the same have an extremely strong zirconium core that is almost as strong as the metal core in metal ceramic crowns.

2. Metal Ceramic crowns. These have been tried and tested for years and although not as aesthetic as Zirconium core crowns, these are cheaper and a little stronger.

3. Cerec crowns. These are single visit ceramic crowns made by the dentist at the same visit as the prep. This type of dental crown is weaker than the other two mentioned above but can be made much more quickly.

4. Gold crowns. These are stronger than all the above crowns but as they don't look like natural teeth many patients avoid them. An indication for these crowns would be in cases where patients are bruxists and are heavy grinders of their teeth.

I like gold dental crowns because they require the least removal of tooth tissue and are hence very conservative of patients tooth tissue. In cases where aesthetics is important I usually opt for Zirconium core ceramic dental crowns.