People need dental crowns for a variety of reasons, including chips, cracks, and severe decay. Once placed, dental crowns help to preserve the natural tooth and eliminate the need for extraction. They can last for decades before requiring replacement and typically offer excellent results.
Patients who need a dental crown should understand the options available to them. While many dentists only offered porcelain fused to metal crowns in the past, zirconia tooth restorations are quickly surpassing them in popularity. We look at the difference between the two types of dental crowns in this blog.
Porcelain Fused to Metal Dental Crowns
Dentists combine porcelain with metal to create this type of dental crown for patients. The porcelain part of the crown is visible above the gum line, and dentists take special care to match the shade of the porcelain to the natural teeth as closely as possible.
The darker metal portion of the crown is sometimes obvious at the gum line. This is especially common among people with receding gums. What patients and dentists appreciate most about porcelain fused to metal dental crowns is that they are strong and appear natural in most people.
Dental Crowns Made from Zirconia
Zirconia is a type of metal oxide that comes from zirconium, a metal found in the titanium family. People can find zirconia in common household items such as electrical fixtures, silverware, and pipes. Zirconia is even stronger than porcelain, making it an excellent option for dental crowns. Crowns made from zirconia are especially ideal for patients who need a restoration on one of their back teeth since these teeth play a major role in chewing and grinding food.
Here are some of the top benefits of choosing zirconia dental crowns:
Customizable: The chemical composition of zirconia dental crowns allows dentists to shape them in the exact manner that patients require. This ensures an excellent fit and avoids patients having to return to the dental practice for adjustments.
Greater durability: Patients who follow a regular oral hygiene routine and visit the dentist for all regular check-ups can expect their zirconia tooth restorations to last for a lifetime. Zirconia is the strongest type of material currently available for use in dental crowns due to the fact it contains the most stabilizers.
Natural appearance: Dental crowns made from zirconia are nearly indistinguishable from natural teeth. This is in contrast to porcelain crowns that sometimes display a metal line on the gum line.
Patient safety: Zirconia is highly biodegradable, which makes it a good alternative to porcelain fused to metal dental restorations for people allergic to those materials. The high percentage of biodegradability also makes zirconia safe to remain in the patient’s mouth for a lifetime.
Contact Us to Learn More About ZircTeeth Smile Makeovers
The dental team at ZircTeeth have completed thousands of implant and crown procedures to improve the smile and oral health of our patients. We invite anyone interested in a possible smile makeover to request a consultation at one of our five convenient locations to learn about the process.
People need dental crowns for a variety of reasons, including chips, cracks, and severe decay. Once placed, dental crowns help to preserve the natural tooth and eliminate the need for extraction. They can last for decades before requiring replacement and typically offer excellent results.
