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Porcelain Crown Information

Dental crowns (also known as caps) are used to restore the appearance of your teeth and protect them from further damage. Crowns are used in instances of broken or decayed teeth and sometimes after root canals to protect the tooth in question.

  1. Aesthetics

    • If it's a beautiful smile you're after, porcelain crowns can help. Due to their semi-translucence, porcelain crowns are similar to real teeth in appearance. Porcelain crowns can also be matched relatively precisely to the current color of your teeth, though you can also whiten your teeth prior to having the procedure done to achieve a better color match.

    Strength

    • Porcelain crowns are not as strong as other crowns, such as those made from metal. If the aesthetics and strength of your teeth are serious concerns, there are a number of options available to you. There are compounds of metal and porcelain available that are metal at the base and porcelain at the tips, preserving the natural appearance of your teeth. You can also fit porcelain crowns to your front teeth, where strength is less of an issue, and have metal ones fit to your back teeth where strength is needed for crunching and chewing.

    Cost

    • Porcelain crowns are substantially more expensive then the other types of veneers. They take the dentist longer to set up since their appearance has to be more carefully crafted. These crowns also have to be implemented by a more skillful than average dentist. Porcelain crowns can cost anywhere from $950 to $2000, depending on which dentist you use. Check with your insurance first, as it may cover at least part of the procedure's costs.

    Variations

    • There are several variations of the pure porcelain crown. There's the Cerec crown, which is a pre-made porcelain crown. Usually porcelain crowns are customized to fit your mouth at the dentist's office while you wait. Cerec crowns are the "factory-made" versions, which are somewhat limited in terms of their appearance. There are also Empress crowns, which are made of a ceramic-like material. In fact, the material of Empress crowns is closer in consistency and texture to glass. These offer a more exact fit than the typical porcelain crown.

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