Gold or Porcelain Crowns

Caps, technically known as crowns, come primarily in two forms: Gold and Porcelain. Gold, the older of the two, has been used to make crowns since the days of ancient Egypt. Still in use today, gold is usually limited to the back teeth where it is not visible. The other type of crown, porcelain, is usually used to restore front teeth since it is more natural looking and blends in with your other teeth.

Both crowns are metal-based: the gold crown is made up entirely of metal and can be quite costly. The porcelain crown is made by bonding a porcelain shell to a metal support, called Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM). While there are other types of porcelain crowns available, those fused to a metal support are still the most common (see Empress Crowns). To reduce the chance of an allergic reaction, usually only yellow gold is used for gold crowns and platinum for the porcelain crowns. Other metals such as silver, nickel or other metals may be used, but there is a higher incidence of allergic reaction to these less expensive alloys.

Which to choose:

There are two main things to consider when choosing a crown: appearance and durability. For the front of the mouth, where esthetics are important, porcelain crowns are usually the best choice. A new system for manufacturing porcelain crowns, called Empress, has developed a method of creating crowns that are almost indistinguishable from natural teeth. They are made out of porcelain without the metal support allowing for a natural translucent appearance. Unfortunately, they are not as strong as other crowns and should be limited to the front teeth where less force is exerted.

For the back of the mouth the main consideration is durability. The grinding and chewing motion of the molars exerts a tremendous amount of force. Due to this pressure most porcelain crowns are likely to crack or fracture. The good news is that with the advent of new platinum alloys for support, porcelain crowns are an option for the back of the mouth in certain instances. Of course, gold is still the strongest material and the best option for a crown in the back of the mouth.

If you need a crown, sit down with your dentist to discuss available options and which crown will best suit your dental and personal needs.