Hello again,

It has been a while since our last post, so today we will discuss dental crowns and bridges .

Let us first define what is a dental crown. A dental crown is an artificial prosthesis that covers the tooth in order to provide protection (due to extensive decay, caries or trauma) and of course better esthetics. A bridge consists of several crowns and covers the gap of missing teeth (one or more) bridging the gap with the teeth prior and after the gap.

There are several types of crown used today in dentistry. In this post we will focus on what technology has to offer today as a solution in dental prosthesis, but before that let's just see what there has been around so far.

We used metal crown (yes just metal) really strong material it lasts for a long time but highly unaesthetic! So it is rarely used anymore. Then we have metal-acryllic (plastic) crowns. They are not that bad but their esthetic look leaves a lot to be desired, the change color in time and they have the bad habit of decaying leaving a rather bad smell in your mouth. This type is also something that is not widely used any more in dental practice.

Now let's discuss more actual types of crowns. Metal-ceramic crown are steady they have a metal core making them strong and porcelain coverage which gives them a rather good esthetic look. Well they are reliable and the most popular type of crown today, but the metal core gives them a "fake" look making them not the best esthetic choice especially for front teeth.

For esthetics we have ceramic crowns or just pure porcelain crowns. There is no metal core the esthetics are astonishing, no-one but your dentist will be able to tell that you are wearing a crown, but there is a small catch. Porcelain is fragile. Since there is no metal core to support the crown too much pressure can break the crown. Porcelain crowns are also a lot more expensive than metal-ceramic crowns (almost twice the price). But what you pay is what you get I suppose. Porcelain crowns are really good for anterior (front) teeth since they give a really natural and beautiful look.

The new thing in dental crowns today are zirconia ceramic crowns. Zircon is not actually a metal is more like a new core, it is really hard and the best benefit of all - it is white! Now you can have a really strong and beautiful crown at the same time! Once again, beauty and durability comes at a price. Zirkonia ceramic crowns are more expensive than ceramic crowns. Well they are a bit pricey but let's face it - they are worth every single penny.

Ok, now we know what dental crown are, what types are used today, and what to ask for depending on our needs.

On our next post we will discuss metal amalgam fillings vs white "invisible" aesthetic composite resin fillings.