Discount Dental Crowns

Types of dental crowns, what is the difference, which one is right for me? 

Generally gold crowns are used for back teeth, the main advantages are strength and durability. In addition it requires less reduction of your natural tooth structure to be removed.

    Dentists who wish to provide patients with excellent dental restorations will often choose or recommend Zirconia crowns. 

     These crowns are preferred over conventional PFM's (Porcelain fused to metal) or full-gold crowns due to their superior strength, durability, and excellent aesthetics. 

    Many dentists exclusively use zirconia over all-ceramic restorations, particularly when restoring a single tooth. Zirconia crowns require shoulder or chamfer margins for best results. 

   They may be fabricated from solid full-contour zirconia, high translucent zirconia or layered zirconia. High translucent zirconia and layered zirconia can be either screw-retained or cemented.

    Most dental practices are switching from the conventional PFM crowns and moving towards the use of zirconia for creating fixed dental restorations. Because zirconia crowns and bridges possess excellent esthetics and are virtually indestructible, zirconia is becoming the most popular material for making dental crowns and other restorations.

     The advantages of Zirconia crowns are they are highly biocompatible, as the smooth surface helps to reduce plaque accumulation. Layered zirconia crowns are extremely durable. Even though the porcelain used for layering does not have the strength of solid zirconia, they are designed to bond with the zirconium substructure, making chipping or fracturing extremely rare. The material also promotes a healthy tissue response.

     Due to a wide variety of factors including chemical composition and processing requirements, there are many ways zirconia can be manufactured to suit the needs of the patient. This customization minimizes the margin for error and ensures excellent fit for each individual.

    Zirconia is suitable for patients with metal allergies or who would prefer to have metal-free restorations.

    Zirconia advantages over PFM is that it is metal-free, which prevents darkening around the gingival area. This eliminates the possibility of metal margins becoming exposed due to gum recession.

  The translucent nature of this material can transmit the color of adjacent teeth and it is manufactured in a wide variety of shades, making it easy to accurately match the color of the patient’s natural teeth.

     Zirconia crowns do not transmit hot and cold in the same way as conventional PFMs.

     This kind of crown is usually used to repair front teeth and are an easy match of the natural color of your teeth. Ceramic crowns are made with the porcelain based material and are not as durable as metal crowns.

    An all ceramic crown are cosmetic dental restorations used to cap or completely cover a tooth being restored they are translucent and are the most natural looking tooth replacement. 

    If a front tooth is cracked or broken ceramic can be the best option for restoration, or the best option for a tooth that is badly damaged and cannot be corrected with a veneer. 

   Ceramic offers more natural looking dental restorations that are color matched to the surrounding teeth.

    Cosmetic dental veneers and bonding are procedures sometimes used with all ceramic crowns to provide an unblemished natural look to a smile. These procedures can be used to restore both the strength and beauty of adjacent less damaged teeth that do not require all ceramic crowns.

     PFM dental crowns, (porcelain fused to metal), are a type of crown that has a metal base which covers the remainder of the tooth. 

    Then added layers of porcelain which are attached to the metal base. 

    These type of crowns are generally lower in cost to Zirconia crowns.

     The disadvantage is that PFM dental crowns can leave a metal ring at the bottom of the crown that can be noticeable, the metal ring part of the crown can become exposed when the gums recede. Additionally, The porcelain used can degrade over time, which can give the tooth a dull color inconsistent with the other natural teeth. 

    With preparation of the tooth for PFM more reduction of the tooth would have to be prepared over that of a zirconia crown, in addition the tooth would need more initial structure to accommodate a PFM, if there is not enough tooth to work with a zirconia may be required.

    Aesthetics is a big thing to consider when getting a crown on your teeth. PFM crowns rarely fully deliver in aesthetics. They are generally used for when a crown needs to withstand a lot of pressure or tension that often comes with chewing. Porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations have been used for over 50 years. They have been proven to last a long time, but the porcelain covering may fail, causing the breakage of a large piece of ceramic from the metal substructure.     

    The entire crown may need replacement if the break is too large. Many dentists trust PFM crowns due to their proven track record, however, zirconia based crowns are becoming more and more popular among patients, are a more superior crown and will more often than not be recommended by the dentist.