What Material To Pick For Your Dental Crown
Did your dentist tell you that you need to get a crown for one of your teeth, but now you are wondering what material you should have the crown made out of? If so, it helps to know the following things about dental crown materials.
Gold Crowns
One type of crown material you definitely want to consider is gold since it has benefits in every single area aside from the aesthetics of the crown. While this may be something to consider for a front tooth, it may not be an issue for a rear molar that nobody will really see.
The benefit of using a gold crown is that the dentist will need to remove less of the existing tooth to attach the crown to it. This results in the gold material itself being further away from the tooth pulp, which means that you're less likely to have complications. The gold material will also wear down at the same rate as your natural tooth enamel. This helps the crown have a tight fit to your tooth, and have fewer gaps where bacteria can get underneath the crown. Gold is also incredibly strong and has a low chance of breaking. This gives the gold crown the most longevity compared to other materials.
Porcelain Crowns
Another option is to use a toothlike material made out of porcelain, which is going to match the color of your existing teeth so that it blends in perfectly. The biggest advantage of using porcelain is that it looks great in your mouth, and works great for those front teeth.
However, the porcelain that goes onto your tooth must be thicker to prevent it from breaking. This is why porcelain crowns require more of your tooth to be removed to make room for the crown. It is possible to put a gold or metal framework underneath a porcelain crown, but it will require even more of the tooth to be removed to fit the framework and the porcelain exterior over the tooth.
Zirconia Crowns
What makes a Zirconia crown unique is that it does not contain any metal frameworks and is incredibly strong, but it requires even more of the tooth to be removed for the crown to fit over your tooth. This means that it may not be an option based on how much tooth will be left after the necessary preparation is completed. Other than that, it is going to be stronger in porcelain and have a very natural look to it, but not be as strong as gold.
For more information about dental crowns, talk to your dentist.