Should You Choose a Gold Dental Crown or a Porcelain One?
Are you thinking of crowning a broken or damaged tooth in the near future? Then you should choose carefully when selecting a material. When comparing gold and porcelain, it's important that you understand their differences and how those differences can affect your teeth, as well as your appearance and your bank balance.
You can replace a crown. However, to do so comes with risks. For instance, your dentist might damage the underlying tooth structure while attempting to remove the crown. This would make it difficult to place a new crown. As a result, you need to be aware of the differences before you choose either porcelain or gold.
Gold is Durable and Easier on Your Teeth
Since 1932, dentists have used gold to repair damaged teeth. However, the composition of gold dental restorations such as dental crowns and fillings consists of several metals. Gold by itself is too soft, which is why dentists usually mix it with other metals like palladium and chromium. But, once combined with these metals, gold is a durable and long-lasting material.
But why would you choose it over porcelain? Because the mixture of gold and other metals results in a strong and almost unbreakable material, gold crowns last longer than porcelain crowns. Moreover, despite its durability, a gold crown won't wear away or damage the opposing tooth due to the softness of gold. This is why dentists usually recommend gold crowns for nocturnal grinders.
And for those who want to conserve more of their tooth's natural structure, gold crowns are ideal. This is because gold crowns bond more securely to natural teeth. As a result, dentists remove less tooth structure when placing them.
Porcelain is Attractive and Tougher on Your Teeth
Despite gold's strengths, its biggest flaw is that it will stand out if placed in the front of the mouth, for obvious reasons. If, for instance, you have broken a central incisor, a gold crown would look out of place beside your remaining natural teeth. However, because ceramists and dentists can create porcelain crowns that resemble natural teeth, porcelain would be ideal for the front of the mouth.
As a result, a well-constructed porcelain crown looks just like a real tooth. So, if smiling is important to you, and you wish to replace a tooth in your smile zone, choose a porcelain crown. But do remember that porcelain is harder than gold. This means that a porcelain crown will wear away the opposing tooth and even break or crack it if enough force is applied.
When choosing between gold and porcelain for your dental crown, be sure to keep these differences in mind. After all, your smile — and your bank balance — are at stake!