Dental Crowns

A dental crown is a treatment that restores a damaged tooth as close as possible to it’s original appearance and function. There are many types of dental crowns, made of a wide variety of materials. For example, there’s gold, PFM, EMAX and Zirconia crowns. Each crown type has it’s properties, and advantages in certain situations. We will try to spell out the differences and help you decide what may be best for you.

Zirconia Crowns

Zirconia crowns are milled from a solid piece or disc of zirconia. Afterwards they are either finished with layers of porcelain, or finished in pure zirconia with techniques to make them match the color of your tooth as close as possible. As they are milled from either a direct scan of your tooth, or a scan of a high accuracy impression, the resulting seal and fit is superior to the basic cast crown. We use only the highest quality laboratory work to provide you with a long lasting, beautiful restoration.

EMAX Crowns

IPS e.max material, or lithium disilicate is a highly esthetic material used for crowns that mimics the look of an original tooth in ways no other crown can. While useful for anterior bridges in limited situations, generally E.Max crowns are best suited for individual, and esthetic makeover situations. E.Max is also an excellent option for veneers as the results are realistic, and relatively durable.

Gold Crowns

Gold Crowns are an excellent option for your dental restoration. When comparing any type of material to another, of course there are pros and cons that the patient needs to weigh. With Gold, advantages include longevity and strength, good biocompatibility, minimal wear to opposing teeth, and superior fit.

Another benefit of a gold crown if it’s suitable for the tooth you are thinking of putting a crown on, is that you have to perform less “trimming” of the tooth to prepare for this type of crown. In cases where most of the tooth is still present, this is a huge advantage as it helps to avoid the need for a root canal. While the difference is pretty minimal, about 0.5mm in most cases, still, it’s an advantage.

Some of the disadvantages are time needed, and cost. A gold crown will typically take a bit longer to make, and while we keep gold in stock so there’s no waiting for it to be ordered, the time needed for the production of a gold crown is usually about 7 business days. The cost factor is one that usually steers people away from gold. Normally gold is considered on molars, and being a bit larger than anterior teeth, a few grams of gold are going to be needed to cover up that tooth. The cost of the gold in making the crown is calculated by the number of grams needed for production. In some cases, the gold cost alone can be as much as 300-400 dollars. This cost is added, without markup, to the regular cost of the crown procedures.

PFM Crowns

NOTE: PFM Crowns are no longer used very often. There are still some special circumstances where they may be used, however the technology has been replaced by milled crowns for the most part

Porcelain fused to metal crowns are often referred to as PFM crowns. There are options when making a PFM crown that can help to make them a little better than their predecessors which have had some criticism lately. A PFM crown has been known to leave the appearance of a dark line at the gums in some cases, and because of the core being comprised of metal, sometimes the quality of the metal is not up to standard. Thankfully you now have a choice of what type of PFM crown you would like to order. We can use standard metals, noble metals, or high noble metals which are precious alloys. It’s even possible now to combine the benefits of a metal structure with the digital technology of milling the base of the crown in a digital milling machine.

When you increase the quality of the components of the PFM Crown, you definitely increase the attractiveness of it, but also, the price is affected. There comes a point where the price is only a small difference from a zirconia or EMAX milled crown. There can be specific reasons for wishing to use a PFM crown, such as support for a partial removable, or other concerns. We can help to answer your questions, and help you decide if this type of crown is fitting for you.

Here are the varios prices on the different types of crowns. Please note that the price for the gold crown is a guide because the cost of the gold would be based on how many grams are needed, and market prices for gold at the time of production. We’ve got it set based on a larger crown, and gold prices from mid 2021.