Is a Crown Really a Crown?

Are all crowns created equal? 

Let me elaborate, and you can decide.  Well, let’s start with what a crown is:

A crown is a jacket or covering of material that is cemented or bonded around the outside of a tooth.  It can be made from many materials including all gold or other metals, a metal and porcelain mixture, plastic, resin or all porcelain.  It can be used as a solution for many dental problems including the restoration of teeth that have suffered significant loss of structure after a large cavity has been repared, if a root canal is completed, if there is an old filling or crown that needs to be replaced or if there are other cosmetic or reconstructive requirements.

With all of the wonderful advances in techniques and materials in modern restorative dentistry, we aim to restore the natural form, function and appearance of teeth.  For these reasons, although there are many other materials available, porcelain crowns are often the restoration of choice.  This however, is where most similarities between porcelain crowns end.  Typically, a crown that may appear at first glance to be tooth colored, only has a very thin veneer of porcelain layered over a metal lining.  Although this type of crown has been available and used for many decades, there are superior options available.  Often, this kind of crown can be identified from a distance because of the black or purple line at the gum.  This is where the metal lining shows through the gum.  These crowns usually appear to be chalky or monochromatic with a lifeless appearance. 

An all porcelain crown, when made by an experienced ceramist, and completed by a dentist experienced in working with this kind of material, can have a very lifelike appearance and has even been shown by current research, to help the tooth regain up to 90% of its original strength.