When It Comes to Dental Crown Materials, All That Glitters Isn’t Gold
There are numerous unique types of dental crown materials available nowadays, including proprietary, brand-specific materials, but most fall within several general categories. Some are intended only for temporary applications, while others can reasonably be expected to last for many years. The types of crown materials generally fall into the categories of resin, ceramic or porcelain, metal, or a combination thereof, descriptions of which are as follows:
Resin – Resin crown materials are popular due to their ease of fabrication and resulting low cost. However, the all-resin crowns tend to wear more rapidly than other types, and have a greater tendency to fracture than other materials. As a result, resin crown materials are favored more for temporary use than for longer-term applications.
Ceramic or porcelain – Dental crowns made of ceramic or porcelain offer the most natural appearance of all crown materials. They are significantly harder than crowns made of resin, and while they are not as prone to wear, the hardness of the material tends to take its toll on adjoining teeth, causing increased wear as well as a greater potential for chipping the enamel of adjoining teeth. This crown material is better suited to incisors than to molars, since the tooth-to-tooth contact of incisors involves a fraction of the force encountered during molar-to-molar contact during chewing. Ceramic or porcelain crown materials are also indicated for patients who have sensitivity to the metals typically used in crowns.
Metal – Several different metals are used as crown materials, ranging from the more noble metals such as gold alloys to the base metals such as chromium or nickel. While pure metal crowns are probably the most durable, the appearance of metal – even gold – is an aesthetic factor which many people reject, particularly in the more visible teeth. This is not such a prominent consideration where molars are concerned.
Porcelain veneer over metal – Fusing a porcelain veneer to a metal crown offers a reasonably acceptable answer to the aesthetic challenge mentioned above, by retaining the durability benefits of the all-metal crown, while for the most part maintaining the more natural appearance offered by the porcelain. While the porcelain does effectively match the appearance of the natural teeth across the bulk of the veneer, some discoloration may be visible at the edges of the veneer, where its thinner section allows the underlying metal to be somewhat visible. As one might expect, the multiple steps required to fabricate, fit, and apply the natural-looking porcelain to the metal base material results in a significantly higher cost than is incurred by using some of the other materials. Given the inherent durability this combination of crown materials offers, this higher cost is likely offset over the long term, a factor which the clinician typically explains to the patients to assist them in making the choice as to which dental crown material is best for them.
Obviously, there are numerous factors to be considered in selecting the appropriate dental crown material for a given application. If one of the more labor-intensive materials is to be utilized in the fabrication of the permanent crown, the dentist and patient may decide to use a temporary prosthesis until such time as the permanent crown or crowns are ready for placement. For this purpose, a simple acrylic crown, or even a more generic metal crown with acrylic veneer, can be fabricated and applied right in the dentist’s office, and should be sufficient for the brief period until the patient’s permanent crown is ready. That said, there have been cases where individuals’ “temporary” crown ended up lasting for many years, and were never replaced with a “permanent” alternative, although it would be unwise to rely upon such a result.
In order to best serve patients’ needs, the modern dental practice must be well-versed in the various types of dental crown materials, the specific advantages and disadvantages of each, and how well each type will serve a patient’s unique situation. In addition to being knowledgeable, the clinic must also maintain an adequate inventory of dental supplies to service its clientele. The experts at Med101Dental.com take their responsibility for keeping their clinician customers well-informed, as well as keeping them well-supplied with the dental supplies they require.
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