Ceramic Dental Crowns- Types, Cost And Pros & Cons

Missing, misaligned, gapped or stained teeth can often be a source of embarrassment, as well as spoil a person’s facial appearance and wreak havoc on her/his quality of life. Ceramic dental crowns can fix embarrassing affliction of tooth structure and literally return your smile aesthetics.

Ceramic Dental Crowns

Cosmetically, ceramic dental crowns are natural-colored metal free coverings that are placed over a dental implant, a tooth or teeth that have become extensively damaged or decayed. This cap mimic the shape of the tooth under repair and is applied over the damaged tooth’s surface using dental cement in order to restore its shape, size and strength.

Also known as dental all-ceramic restorations, ceramic dental caps’ popularity has rapidly increased over the past decade because of their natural appearance, bio-compatibility, excellent mechanical properties, strength and durability.

These kind of dental prostheses are stronger and tougher than porcelain and all-resin prosthetic teeth. Using advanced processing technologies such as hot pressing and CAD/CAM dentistry(computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture), ceramic dental crowns produce better aesthetic results than any other type.

Types

There are two main types of all-ceramic crowns are available in the market- Zirconia and lithium disilicate.They are all type of cad cam dental milling available offering the accurate customized restoration for individual client.

• Zirconia Crowns

A zirconia crown is a popular type of all-ceramic restorations which is made from cad cam dental zirconia blocks, a material which has been harvested for its strength and durability. Apart from the dentistry zirconia is used in many other medical applications such as artificial joints. Zirconia dental prostheses are worn to hide surface imperfections and rejuvenate the tooth’s appearance. They are easy to wear and have a translucent appearance which makes them indistinguishable from natural teeth.

• Glass Ceramic Crowns

This type of all-ceramic crowns is made from a single block of lithium disilicate ceramic(dental cerec block), a top quality material which is known for its toughness and durability. Their highly attractive appearance and opaque qualities make E-Max crowns a highly prized dental restoration.

Advantages

Ceramic crowns look far more natural than the traditional metal type.

Apart from improving your facial & smile aesthetics, ceramic crowns restore tooth structure, strength, and function of your teeth and boost your confidence.

All-ceramic crowns, when cemented properly, can greatly help patients with weakened or traumatized teeth, protecting them from further damage.

Ceramic crowns are custom matched to the color of your natural teeth in order to provide the most natural, aesthetically pleasing results.

Ceramic crowns are used to cover a dental implant to comfortably work together with your remaining healthy teeth.

One of the most obvious advantages is that ceramic dental crowns look, feel, and function like your own teeth.

If crafted accurately, ceramic dental crowns can help your upper and lower teeth to meet properly and maintain a proper, balanced bite.

These dental caps may be more suitable for people with metal allergies.

Disadvantages

Ceramic dental crowns are less durable than other types of crowns.

They are not as strong as porcelain fused to metal crowns and more prone to cracking or breaking.

All-ceramic restorations are more likely used for the front teeth and not usually recommended for molars and premolars since these prostheses are not designed to support a lot of biting force and chewing.

One of the biggest disadvantages is to do with its cost.

COST

All-ceramic crowns are more expensive than any other option. The high grade material and time needed to produce these prostheses as well as the requirement of a high degree of expertise on the part of the dentist to fit these caps also increase their cost.