Re: Gold vs Porcelain Crown

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

I didn't realize that they still did gold crowns. Whenever I have work done on my teeth I request the most natural looking material. I was getting composite fillings way back when they were still doing amalgam fillings.

If it were me I would go with the porcelain.

kismet · ‎03-10-2010

Sooner, I am one of those old people. I have a small mouth and don't sing so I think I'm good. Someday you'll be old too.

kismet · ‎03-10-2010

I'm more interested in getting something that will last. All of my other crowns on top are porcelain. I have 4 gold molars on the bottom from years ago. Grew up in a small town with a bad dentist. My dentist teaches at the local university and I'm not concerned about the color way back so far I could hardly see the tooth with a magnifying mirror. There was a large silver filling in it, when I got it I can't remember.

speedy girl · ‎06-03-2018

Wow, I was going to add that gold is really a good option for your back teeth. But then someone said it's just for old people. But I still think gold is better as it will serve you for many many years. But take the advice of your dentist, whatever that may be.

CalminHeart · ‎03-09-2010

@ahoymate wrote:
Gold is for old, old, old people. Procelain looks best. Most natural. Doesn't last as long but still, vanity is important. Don't get gold!

You are the customer, you tell your dentist what YOU want!! You are paying for this service.

old, old, old people? Good grief. If you're lucky, you'll be old someday too.

CalminHeart · ‎03-09-2010

@kismet wrote:
I'm going for a crown and I asked the dentist what type of crown she will be putting on and she said gold. In the past when I had a crown put on my back tooth I had a procelain because I thought I heard the dentist say you don't put gold on gold. I do have a gold crown on the bottom molar that the new crown will be touching. Has anyone had a gold crown on top and bottom or has your dentist put a procelain crown that would meet the gold. Just wondering if things have changed in 20 years. I know a gold is stronger and it is a molar.

Back molars take a lot more pressure than other molars and need the strongest type of crown. I've had 3 dentists say that they always use gold for the far back molars because it is much less likely to crack and have to be replaced.

Get a 2nd opinion if you want. Go with what will be the best and last the longest.

Gold is not just for old people as some ageists might think. Who is going to be examining your back molar when you are interviewing, meeting new friends, socializing, working, etc.

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

I have several gold and just one porcelain. The gold have lasted since sometime in the 90s and the porcelain failed within ten years. Replacement can be hard on the remaining portion of the tooth. IMO porcelain is a cheap product.

Taskmaster56 · ‎08-26-2019

I've had to make this decision too and have changed my mind in recent years. Previously, the priority had always been cosmetic appearance. Having a uniform, atttractive mouth of natural-looking teeth was always my preference. However, having had so many porcelain crowns fail over a relatively short period of time, I now consider gold (at least) for crowns located in the back. The gold allows for a comfortable bite and I don't worry everytime I bite down on foods that can potentially break porcelain.

So you have to consider things like cost, cosmetic appearance, your willingness to replace a crown more frequently, and the foods you eat. For me, I got tired of worrying about breaking a porcelain crown everytime I would want to eat a foods that had nuts. Restaurant food presented another challenge since more than once I had a crown chip from something unexpected that should not have been in the food.

I have quite a few crowns, have needed many porcelain replacements, and carry dental insurance that pays only about 1/3 the cost. I won't consider anything but porcelain for teeth than can be readily seen, but for back teeth I now choose gold. I don't love the look, but no one sees it and gold holds up. Another alternative you might ask about would be the newer zirconia crowns. They look look perfectly natural, and are supposed yo be much stronger than porcelain.