OT: Dental crown gold or Zirconia

Bill D · Oct 3, 2018

I need to have crown made for a tooth. I already have two made of gold. My dentist is pushing zirconia instead of gold. this is for a back molar so it will not show. I understand pure zirconia can be stronger then any other material used in dentistry. I wonder if it can chip or crack. This is not zirconia with a coating to make it look like tooth enamel. those coatings tend to chip off over time.
The price difference is only $50 so I will probably stay with gold since it has a good track record. Most information is just manufacturers glowing reports. I do not think it has been around long enough to have a ten or twenty year track record.
I am 60 years old so that may influence my choice since I would hope any crown should last my lifetime.

Bill D.

GregSY · Oct 3, 2018

My dentist tells me nothing is as good as gold. He said ' you won't find any dentist that tells you otherwise'. A lot of times he recommends the white materials for appearance. But in terms of performance, gold. That's why I am only getting gold from now on for any back teeth.

Mwray · Oct 3, 2018

The selling point of the Zir. Crowns is they showed a guy driving one of their crowns into a post with a hammer, pulled it out then put it back on the tooth. As far as durability I have 4 of them and still am very impressed

Bill D · Oct 3, 2018

Reading a bit more they may be too hard. They will cause more wear on the opposed tooth then gold. They seem to be pushing them as better then porcelain for exposed teeth but no real mention of comparing them to gold.

GregSY · Oct 3, 2018

Let's not forget the ladies are drawn to gold....

Rob F. · Oct 3, 2018

Is cubic zirconia with a gold band around it an option?

pmtool · Oct 3, 2018

My wife is a dentist. She says gold is the way to go. Most dentists would choose it for their own back molars. It's soft against the other teeth, durable, and has the best marginal fit. Zirconia doesn't have a long-term track record, and is difficult to remove if it ever needs replacement. It is very hard but that doesn't mean it can't break if there is a flaw in the material. The lab bill is a lot cheaper for zirconia, which is a reason some dentists like it!

UncleFrank · Oct 4, 2018

Don't know about zirconia but I had a porcelain one fail after a few years. Went to gold and have had no problems for 15 years. My Mother had gold crowns that lasted over 50 years.

brooksie · Oct 4, 2018

I have gold crowns and bridge installed in 1973. Still working everyday.

metlmunchr · Oct 4, 2018

Most of my molars have gold crowns. Several over 25 years old. Never have had to have any of them replaced, nor have I had any other sort of problems with them, with one minor exception. About a year ago, one came loose. Went to the dentist the next day, and according to his records he put it on in 1992. He checked the underlying tooth and the crown, cleaned both up to remove any remaining glue, and reinstalled it. Good as new. Based on my experience with them, I'll stick with gold.

GregSY · Oct 4, 2018

This pretty much settles the issue.

Kiiara - Gold (Official Video) - YouTube

Jim Williams · Oct 4, 2018

The accuracy of fit of the crown, whatever material, is the most important thing in a lasting restoration. Most dentists seem to prefer what I think is called “slice” tooth preparation which tapers the restoration down to a fine edge. I feel that a carefully done preparation where the restoration meets the tooth in a square edge can be better sealed. I lost a tooth that had a slice crown that did not cover the soft tooth material completely, leaving the tooth subject to decay. I got a gold crown several years ago that a slice edge was away from the tooth a bit. The dentist was able to burnish the ductle gold crown to fit well against the tooth. With proper cement under the well fitted edge, that crown has held up well. Quality dental work is the answer. I envisioned interviewing my next dentist with a discussion of his crown and bridge work, with him showing me examples of his work. I did not do that when we moved to Florida a bit more than two years ago, but recommendations from others seem to have put me into an acceptable situation.

Danny VanVoorn · Oct 4, 2018

My dentist didn't talk about the material as much as the importance of the fit of the crown. Seems all the suppliers are all going to machining them instead of using the impression for a mold and the fit is not as good? He said that the fit is the most important part for success, otherwise the patient winds up with sensitivity to hot and cold and they may loosen over time.
Dan

JST · Oct 4, 2018

Have had "non precious metal" crowns for some time, like 20 years, and they have been trouble free.

Had two replaced due to problems not due to the crowns, and the new ones are a machined material, dilithium silicate. have not had them long enough to judge longevity.

I think the goodness or badness has far more to do with the dentist than the crown material. Dr Rosen who did the originals was extremely good. Maybe the gold is regarded as good because it is soft enough to compensate for any small misalignments.

Zirconia vs. lithium disilicate - Dental Economics

toolsteel · Oct 4, 2018

Gold...it looks cool

Bill D · Oct 4, 2018

I see mention of titanium crowns. Did the old Soviet union use stainless steel for crowns. like the guy in then James Bond movies?
Bill D

Glug · Oct 4, 2018

I once found a gold crown in a small Kennedy chest I bought at an estate sale.

metlmunchr · Oct 4, 2018

I ran a bar for a couple years back in the 70's. A girl who came in regularly was a dental assistant. She came in one night and showed us this ring she'd made from partially fused bits and pieces of salvaged gold crowns. It was a really unique looking ring, but this one guy who worked for me never could resist adding in some wiseass remark whatever the situation. He says Wow Sylvia, that's a really cool ring but I never knew you had Nazis in your family tree.

Jim Williams · Oct 4, 2018

Bill D,

I spent some time in the Soviet Union on a technical service assignment about 50 years ago. I saw a lot of people with stainless steel grins, and was told that the utilitarian stainless steel crowns and bridges were the standard offering of the state health service. If a Soviet citizen wanted porcelain crowns, he had to pay extra for the fancy stuff.

guest · Oct 4, 2018

I don't know what the material is, but I have 2 or 3 Cerec crowns, I can't even tell which teeth they are. I had a gold one that I finally lost after about 30 years.

The Cerec is cool, you go in and leave with the crown in one setting. No lab work, no temporary crowns. I watched it machine out the tooth while I was waiting, then it was baked for a little while and it was ready to place. Fit perfect. The whole process only took a couple hours.

OT: Dental crown gold or Zirconia

Diamond

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Titanium

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