These crowns are made only of ceramic material without the metal base.
They are the most natural looking crowns and at times it might even be difficult to distinguish them from natural teeth.
Advantages
They have very high translucency matching that of natural teeth. Hence their aesthetic value is very high. They are the best crowns to be used to restore front teeth.
They are preferred in visible zones particularly upper front teeth or lower front teeth.
Disadvantages
These crowns have lower strength thus reducing their durability.
They can be used only in no stress zones like the front teeth. They tend to fracture under higher forces like chewing.
The cost is higher compared to PFM crowns
What is a Zirconium crown?
Zirconium crowns
These crowns are the best of the lot as they have very good strength as well as aesthetics.
Advantages:
The color of zirconium crowns is very close to that of natural teeth. Thus they don’t look artificial. .
Unlike Porcelain fused to metal crowns that are most commonly used, the underlying metal is not visible as zirconium is white in color. Black margins seen with conventional porcelain crowns (PFM) are not an issue of concern with zirconium crowns.
They have very good strength. Hence can be used to restore both front and back teeth.
Zirconium Crowns are the material of choice to replace multiple missing teeth because of their high strength.
With ceramic layering for the front teeth they offer best of both worlds. Beauty, strength and durability.
Many big companies like 3M, DENTSPLY are into the fabrication of these crowns.
Hence they are available with warranty card valid for 5, 10, 15 years throughout the world.
Disadvantages:
The major disadvantage is the cost. It is more expensive than the conventional PFM caps.
