Zirconia And Porcelain Crowns For Front And Back Teeth

01

What The Two Crown Ceramics Are

Both ceramics replace the outside of a tooth that can no longer be restored with a filling alone. They do not replace a missing tooth, and they do not sit only on the front surface. The difference that matters in the chair is how much light the ceramic lets through, and how the bite loads that tooth.

A Crown Covers The Tooth

To fit a crown, the dentist shapes the tooth on all sides so the cap has room and a clear path to seat. That is more reduction than a facing needs, because the crown has to cover the sides as well as the front. The edge is placed where it can be cleaned, usually at or slightly under the gum. A veneer leaves the back of the tooth largely untouched. Calling a full-coverage cap a veneer mixes two plans, two preparations, and often two fees.

The three published lines on this page are crowns. A full zirconia crown at £160 covers the tooth. A full E.max porcelain crown at £200 covers the tooth. A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown at £100 covers the tooth and has a metal core. None of those lines is a shell on the front of an uncut tooth.

E.max Porcelain

E.max is a lithium disilicate porcelain. It is more translucent than zirconia, so more light passes through it, closer to the way enamel does. That is why a full E.max porcelain crown is often considered for front teeth, where the crown sits next to natural teeth and the colour has to work in daylight. A review of ceramic translucency describes lithium disilicate as more translucent than conventional zirconia, and describes zirconia as the mechanically stronger of the two ceramics. Those are laboratory comparisons of materials. They are not a ranking of patients.

Translucency has a limit you can see. If the tooth underneath is dark, grey after root treatment, or built on a metal post, some of that colour can show through a translucent crown. The clinician looks at the stump, not at a smile photograph, before choosing E.max. How that crown is prepared and fitted is on the E.max porcelain crown treatment page.

Zirconia

Zirconia is a ceramic made from zirconium dioxide. Conventional zirconia is more opaque than E.max. It is often considered where the bite is heavy, which is common on back teeth, or where the tooth underneath is dark and a translucent crown would show that colour. Newer zirconia can be made to let more light through than older zirconia. The gap narrows. It does not disappear into a rule that one ceramic covers every tooth. The clinician still matches the ceramic to the stump and the bite.

Opacity is the useful property when you need to hide what is underneath. It is also why a zirconia crown can look flatter beside very translucent enamel. That is a planning point, not a fault to be advertised away. The preparation and the fit are described on the zirconia crown treatment page.

Porcelain Fused To Metal

A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown has a metal core with porcelain baked over it. The published fee is £100. The metal coping is there for strength under the porcelain. It can also change the colour at the gum, and that edge is easier to see on a front tooth than on a molar. If the gum later recedes, more of the metal-affected edge can show. It is a different crown from full zirconia and from full E.max. The fee is not a reason to choose it, and it is not a reason to reject it. The tooth, the bite, and whether the edge will show decide.

These are single crowns. A bridge, a set of many crowns, and a veneer are different lines. The figure on a message is not the plan until it names which of these crowns it means, and whether anything else is added after the examination.

02

Front Teeth And Back Teeth

The position of the tooth changes what you and the dentist notice. It does not award the mouth to one material. A front crown is seen every time you speak. A back crown is loaded every time you chew. Some teeth do both.

Front Teeth

A front crown is judged beside the neighbouring teeth: colour, how much light it lets through, the edge at the gum, and the shape of the incisal edge. E.max is often considered here because it is more translucent. Zirconia is still considered when that front tooth is dark underneath, or when the bite on it is heavy enough that a more translucent ceramic is a poor match for the load.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals describes an all-ceramic crown as suitable where the crown can be seen and the bite is not heavy. A heavy bite is a reason to look again, including at zirconia, rather than a rule that every front tooth must be porcelain. Two front teeth side by side are usually planned in the same ceramic, so one does not look glassy and the other flat. That is a shade decision made on your teeth, not a catalogue pair.

Back Teeth

A back crown takes the chewing load. Zirconia is often considered there because the bite is heavier and the crown is less on show. The opacity matters less in a molar that nobody sees, and it still matters if the stump is very dark and the cheek lifts away when you smile. E.max can still be considered for a premolar that shows in a wide smile, when the bite on that tooth is not heavy.

Porcelain fused to metal remains an option on a back tooth when a metal core is acceptable and the edge will not show. A metal-coloured crown is a different restoration again, and it is not one of the three lines compared here. None of these choices can be made from the tooth’s number alone. The contacts with the opposing teeth, and whether you grind, belong in the same decision.

03

When Each Crown May Be Considered

Most adults with a broken, heavily filled, or root-treated tooth can be assessed for a crown. The material is the second question. The first is whether a crown is the right restoration at all. Photographs of a finished smile are not that assessment.

A Heavy Bite And A Dark Tooth

Grinding and a strong bite are reasons zirconia is often considered. They are not a statement that the crown cannot chip, and they are not a reason to ignore the teeth it bites against. A night guard may be part of the conversation after the crowns are fitted. The opposing teeth still wear, and a very rough ceramic surface can add to that. The laboratory polish, and a check of the bite at the fit, are how that is limited. They are not removed by the choice of brand name.

A dark stump, a metal post, or a tooth that has gone grey after root treatment is the other common reason zirconia is often considered. An opaque crown hides that colour more readily than E.max. If the stump is a normal shade and the tooth is at the front, with a bite that is not heavy, the translucency of E.max is often the point of choosing it. A single mouth can need both: E.max on the light front teeth, zirconia on a dark or heavily loaded one. The written plan should say which tooth gets which ceramic.

04

What The Crown Visit Involves

A crown visit is an examination, shaping, a record of the tooth, a temporary cap, and then the final crown. It is not a cleaning, and it is not a veneer appointment. Local anaesthetic is used while the tooth is shaped. Soreness afterwards is possible. This page does not describe the visit as comfortable for every person.

1. 01ExaminationThe tooth, the bite, the gum, and a radiograph. The ceramic is discussed after that, not before.
2. 02PreparationThe tooth is reduced around its sides so the crown has thickness and a path to seat.
3. 03TemporaryA temporary crown covers the shaped tooth while the laboratory makes the final one.
4. 04FitColour, the gum edge, and the bite are checked before the crown is fixed.

Shaping The Tooth

The tooth is reduced so the crown has room. A front tooth needs enough thickness for the ceramic to show colour without looking bulky. A back tooth needs enough thickness to take the bite. The record of the shaped tooth goes to the laboratory, with the shade taken against the neighbours in ordinary light where that is possible. You should not leave with a shaped tooth and nothing over it. The temporary crown protects the tooth and holds the space. It is not the final ceramic, and it is easier to dislodge. Eat on the other side until the final crown is fitted.

How many days you are in the clinic depends on the laboratory and on whether the tooth needs other treatment first. A tooth with a deep crack, or a nerve that is already inflamed, may need that problem treated before the crown is finished. This page does not promise a same-day crown for every tooth, and it does not promise that every crown is finished on a second calendar day. Ask the reply to state the appointments for your tooth.

Fitting The Final Crown

The final crown is tried for colour, for the edge at the gum, and for the bite. A high spot is adjusted before you leave. On a front tooth the colour is checked away from the operating light, because a lamp can hide a mismatch that daylight shows. On a back tooth the check is whether the crown hits early when you close and when you slide. You should leave knowing who to contact if the bite still feels heavy the next day, or if the crown feels loose.

The crown is then fixed. Once a permanent cement has set, the crown is not something you remove at night. If the colour or the shape is wrong, that has to be seen at the try-in, not after you have flown home and the cement has been in place for weeks. Say so before the crown is permanently fixed. A try-in can still allow a change to the restoration, but preparation has already removed tooth structure and that step is irreversible.

05

Risks And Aftercare

A crown can solve a broken tooth and still create problems of its own. Sensitivity, a chip, a crown that loosens, and a colour that does not sit with the neighbours are the ones to hear about before you agree. None of them is rare enough to leave out of the conversation, and none of them is a reason to avoid a crown that the tooth actually needs.

What Can Go Wrong

Shaping can irritate the nerve. Some teeth then need a root canal, which is a separate procedure and is not inside the crown fee. The risk is higher when the tooth was already deeply filled or cracked. A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown can show a darker edge if the gum recedes. An E.max crown can show a dark tooth through the ceramic. A zirconia crown can look flatter in the light because it is more opaque. Any of the three can chip, or can come loose if the tooth underneath decays at the edge or the cement fails.

The gum at the edge can stay inflamed if the temporary is left too long, if the edge is bulky, or if cleaning stops because the tooth is sore. Grinding can still damage a ceramic that was chosen because the bite is heavy. Published comparisons describe groups of crowns and samples of ceramic. They do not give you a personal figure for how long your crown will last, and this page does not print one.

Care At Home

Clean the edge of the crown as you were shown. The ceramic does not decay. The tooth at the edge can. Floss or use an interdental brush rather than skipping the contact because a crown is there. Do not use the new crown to bite thread, ice, or a pen. If you grind, ask whether a guard is part of the plan once the bite has been checked.

See a dentist at home for ordinary checks. Contact the clinic if the crown or the temporary feels high, rocks, or has come off. Do not glue a crown back with a household product. A temporary that has come off leaves a shaped tooth that can move or become sensitive. That needs a call, not a wait until the next holiday.

06

The HCT Team And Patient Reviews

HCT sees people for crowns in Antalya and Istanbul. A useful reply names the tooth, the ceramic, and which published crown line the fee uses. A single number in a message, with no material, is not that plan.

Prof. Dr. Müjde Sevimay

Prosthodontics

Prof. Dr. Müjde Sevimay is the prosthodontist who plans crowns, including the bite and whether a tooth takes a more translucent ceramic or a more opaque one. Ask who will examine the tooth and who will fit the crown.

This page is an editorial guide. It is not a record that she, or any other clinician, has signed it as a medical review.

Patient Reviews On Google

Selected Google reviews from HCT patients. These are general clinic experiences, not verified results for a zirconia or porcelain crown.

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Further comments are on patient reviews.