The entire decayed or damaged tooth above the gum line is covered by a dental crown,
also known as a cap, which restores the tooth’s size, shape, strength, and aesthetics.
Crowns can be used cosmetically to hide deformed or badly discolored teeth. They
prevent weak teeth from shattering or hold a cracked tooth together. Crowns range in
price from $500 to $900 and can be constructed of metal, porcelain-fused-to-metal,
resin, or ceramic.
The dental lab typically fabricates this kind of artificial crown replacement. It contains a
robust metal inner core that was cast inside a high-heating oven in the lab. Gold or
another precious metals alloy could be used as the inner core material. As in a bridged
type with several porcelain crowns, the cast core or metal support could be single or
multiple with porcelain facing build up on top of it.
Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), a powdered form of zirconium, is the zirconia used in
dentistry (also known as porcelain fused to zirconia, or PFZ). Zirconia gained popularity
in the 1990s after being used successfully for implants and endodontic posts. Zirconia
has a solid track record now for single or multiple crowns. Despite years of fitting and
durable cementation, its white core prevents blackish darkening of the gum borders. For
use as crowns, it comes in two varieties: solid or complete zirconia and transparent
zirconia.
