What Kind Of Crown Is Best For The Teeth?

A crown or a cap is the artificial tooth-like structure that is used to cover your tooth after the completion of a root canal or the restoration of a fractured tooth. These crowns may be placed individually or joined to one another on multiple adjoining teeth. If a missing tooth is replaced by taking support from the adjacent teeth then the who restoration is referred to as a ‘bridge’.

When a doctor is talking about crowns and bridges in any situation, there are always multiple options that are offered to the patient. These options usually vary in the kind of materials being used, the fabrication technique, the strength and even the amount of time they are expected to last.

So what are the best crowns for your tooth? Does more expensive always mean better? The answer to these questions actually varies depending on various clinical conditions, but there are three main kinds of crowns that patients need to know about.

Stainless Steel Crowns  

These crowns are used mostly for children that need a pulpectomy (similar to an RCT) for their milk teeth. They are also used for restoration in adults where the space available is extremely constrained or where the most affordable option needs to be considered.

These crowns are among the earliest kinds of crowns that were made and still function quite well in certain situations. They are almost never used in teeth that will be visible during smiling or talking because of aesthetical reasons, but strength wise they are not too bad.

This kind of crown is still a good option, and a much used one, in developing countries where people do not have too much disposable income to spend on their teeth.

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Porcelain Fused To Metal Crowns  

This is the most popular kind of crown that is used all across the world. The basic idea here is to layer a stainless steel framework with porcelain so that the "new tooth" can match the color of the surrounding teeth.

There are certain advantages and disadvantages to these crowns. The biggest advantage is that they look much more aesthetic and ‘real’ as compared to the metal crowns. They can be shaded and stained to give a very lifelike effect by trained technicians.

The disadvantage of this kind of crown is that they require a larger amount of space in the mouth. The extra layer of porcelain demands that a large amount of tooth structure be removed to create the necessary space.  

Also, because these crowns are actually two layers bonded to one another, there is a chance that a layer of porcelain can chip off during normal use. This leaves the crown looking ‘damaged’ with an ugly metallic spot, although it should be remembered that the crown is still usable if the underlying metal framework is intact.

These crowns can be used for crowns in the front of the mouth where it is necessary for the crowns to be as lifelike as possible, however, they have now been relegated to the back of the mouth because of better options.

The Best Crown For Your Teeth

Metal Free Crowns

These crowns are also referred to as all-ceramic crowns and are considered to be a good option for almost all situations.

These crowns do not have any metal inside them and are made completely of porcelain. Their fabrication is usually done using CAD-CAM machines that cut the crown from a single block of material using lasers.

This method means that there are no joints or layers to the crown and so no potential weak spots in the crown. It is also possible to make these crowns extremely lifelike, much more so than is possible with porcelain fused to metal crowns.

Our natural teeth have a layer of translucency to them which is impossible to replicate in the older kind of crowns. The most aesthetic kind of crowns used in the front of the mouth are able to replicate this and can be extremely hard to distinguish from their natural counterparts.

There was a trend initially to use these crowns only in the front region of the mouth, but now material advances have shown that metal free crowns are stronger than traditional crowns and should be used in the back of the mouth as well, where the biting pressure is much higher.

These crowns are the most expensive of the three and even come with manufacturer warranties for a long amount of time, so in case the crown breaks, it will be replaced free of cost. These crowns also require the largest amount of space in the mouth.

So Are Metal Free Crowns The Best In All Situations?

While it may seem that the metal-free crowns are the best in all situations (and they quite often are), it is not necessary for patients to have to get this kind of crowns always. The doctor will make an assessment of the kind of occlusion that the patient presents with.

If the space available is less than optimum then it is not wise to think of metal-free options. Also, for people that are struggling to put sufficient biting forces due to old age or other factors, metal free crowns are overkill. It is like putting racing fuel in a Honda Civic.

The metallic crowns are often derided because of the fact that they are not aesthetic, but for purely functional purposes, they perform their duty of protecting the tooth underneath quite well.

Conclusion

Dentistry has advanced an immeasurable amount over the last few decades, and a lot of that progress is down to advanced made in material sciences. Doctors nor have at their disposal better options than ever before.

With respect to crowns, the method of fabricating metal-free crowns, their unibody construction, and their excellent esthetics means that you are not going to go wrong with this option. If your doctor offers it to you and you can afford it, then go for it.

Also, remember the fact that just because something excellent is available in the market, everything else does not become bad. This holds true for crowns where whatever type you go for, you will end up protecting your teeth .