Which dental Crown / Veneer Material: Zirconia or Emax?

Conventional PFM (Porcelain Fused to Metal) is being superseded by more aesthetic and natural looking alternatives. Zirconia and Emax crowns are the new trends in cosmetic dentistry and their popularity is increasing day by day. However, choosing the right dental crown material type for your teeth might be a bit confusing.

Which dental crown material is better for my teeth?

The choice of dental crown material depends on the location they are being used. For example, while E-max veneers in Turkey are perfect for front teeth, they might not be the best option for molars. Let’s have a more detailed look at their main qualities.

A- PFM Crowns

Porcelain Fused to Metal, as can be understood from the name, uses a metal alloy as base. Porcelain which is the visible part of a PFM crown is built over this dark coloured alloy base for mechanical strength. Porcelain is a translucent material. Therefore, the use of opaquer which prevents the dark colour reflection of alloy base on the porcelain surface is a part and a parcel of PFM dental crowns. As a result, it becomes much harder to achieve a natural look on the dental crown.

B- Zirconia Crowns

Zirconia crowns are one of the most favourable tooth replacement materials in contemporary dentistry. Zirconia is a resilient and white coloured material. However, there are 3 different types of zirconia crowns available and it would be beneficial for a dental patient to learn their differences.

-Full Zirconia Crown
-Multi Layered Full Zirconia Crown
-Porcelain Fused to Zirconia

Full Zirconia Crown

Even though it is resilient and has a tooth-like colour, zirconia is a non-translucent material which means it does not let the light pass through, unlike natural teeth and porcelain. Therefore, full zirconia crowns are not the best option to use in aesthetically important areas such as incisors and canines. Because of their mechanical strength, they are more used in molar teeth, which is in a load bearing and aesthetically less important area.

Multi-Layered Full Zirconia Crown

In order to overcome the aesthetic issues about Full Zirconia Crowns, manifacturers has started producing multi-layered zirconia blocks. These Multi-layered Full Zirconia Crowns give better aesthetic results than the conventional zirconia blocks. They are used particularly in the front teeth which is aesthetically important and they give satisfying results.

Porcelain Fused to Zirconia (PFZ)

PFZ crowns have the same system as PFM’s; the porcelain is built over a base material. However, the colour of zirconia base used in PFZ crown is much more closer to the colour of a natural tooth, unlike PFM crown. In Porcelain Fused to Zirconia, the combination of zirconia base and translucent porcelain body gives excellent aesthetic results. Therefore, they are one of the first choices for cosmetic dentistry.

C- All-Ceramic Crowns & Emax

Emax is a type of all-ceramic crowns which gives excellent aesthetic results. Opposite to PFM and PFZ, Emax crowns do not contain any metal core material. Therefore, the complete crown is made of ceramic. Emax crowns give the most natural look and they are used on front teeth such as incisors, canines and premolars.

Although they give excellent aesthetic results on front teeth, Emax crowns are not the most favourable options for load-bearing areas such as molar teeth. Emax crowns are glass based materials and they are more prone to fractures under high pressure such as in the molar teeth.
If a patient wants aesthetic looks on their back teeth as well as front teeth, it makes more sense to use a more resilient crown material alternative for molar teeth such as multi-layered full zirconia.