Seeing new dentist & regretting decision about all-ceramic crown after reading online. She said it was almost as strong as gold?

Question

I had a root canal on #2 and am now getting a crown. Dentist told me a gold crown would be strongest, but her second choice would be all-ceramic. Last choice would be PFM. I chose all-ceramic based on what she told me. This was all new to me because my previous dentist never gave me a choice, he always used PFM. After reading online, I'm upset because I don't think all-ceramic was best choice. I have a PFM crown right next to it on #3. I did molds today. Is it too late to change to a PFM?

Norman Huefner, DDS · Answer

There are two types of ceramic tooth-colored restorations other than the porcelain fused to metal that you previously had.  One is a zirconia crown, tooth colored, very strong.  The other is EMax, which is my favorite.  Emax can be bonded onto the tooth, which is better than cementing like you had with your PFM crown.  They are very strong and look very  natural, and in my opinion, much more natural than the zirconia tooth colored crowns.In my mouth, I would have an Emax crown.

Soheyla Marzvaan, DDS (retired) · Answer

All porcelain crowns of made properly and bonded correctly are very strong and also more aesthetic than PFM or gold. The EMAX also allows the x-ray penetration for maintenance dental exams and is more tissue compatible and my personal favorite. However, dentistry is not one size fit all. Your dentist should know what is best for you. If she chose porcelain, hopefully it is EMAX and the best. So do not believe what ever you read online as gospel and that  it will happen to you . Same material may work on someone and not on another. Having said all this , to answer you particular question, if the lab has not already begun work on your crown, with the same mold ( impression) you can change your mind to PFM . Good luck.

Lawrence Singer, DMD (in memoriam) · Answer

All ceramic crowns are excellent and have a very low failure rate when they are fabricated by the lab properly.  I have used thousands of Emax lithium silicate all ceramic crowns with less than 0.1% breakage - even in the posterior.  If you want something stronger, there is zirconia ceramic crowns, but they tend to sacrifice a lot of esthetics.  Gold is an excellent restorative material.  It wears at the same rate as tooth structure.  However, GOld has become very expensive and there is an issue of low level galvanic reactions if there are other metals in your mouth.  A properly executed contemporary all-porcelain crown is an excellent choice.

Murray Bruckel, DDS (retired) · Answer

The mold is the same for ceramic or other types of crowns...........................................

Seeing new dentist & regretting decision about all-ceramic crown after reading online. She said it was almost as strong as gold?

Answers (4)