crowns - gold or porcelain - your thoughts?

[motherpeculiar]

I need two new crowns and can get gold ones free on the NHS (just had a baby) or pay £700 for porcelain ones. Dentist can't really give me a good reason to get the porcelain, he says they should last longer but one of these is needed as a replacement for one that was just fitted a little over two years ago for which I did pay something like £300 .

Obviously there is the issue of how they look. They'll be at the back so not really visible - I'm not going for the gold front tooth bling look. Is there anything else that I should be thinking about?

dental appt tomorrow when I have to let him know.

Thanks

• seems apt!

My dentist did me a lovely gold one, she said they have to remove less tooth for gold as it it thinner, and it has a better mouth feel. I prefer it to my 2 porcelain jobs, it does feel less of a lump! I wish it was at the front as I have to show it to my kids' friends every so often!

definitely porcelain. Just my preference, but definitely porcelain.

gosh, i'd definitely go for gold!

when i saw this thread I thought NOOOOOOOOOOOOO gold teeth!!! but, if they're at the back, and they're free... then go for gold!

The advantage of gold is that it doesn't need to be as thick as a porcelain one in order to be strong enough so less tooth needs to be removed, (ie so that it fits between the adjacent teeth and doesn't interfere with the bite) a porcelain crown on the back teeth is actually a metal crown with porcelain fused over the top for cosmetic appearnces hence is much thicker (therefore you need to drill away alot more tooth. Also gold crowns have a thinner margin (ie where the edge of the crown meets the tooth) so the fit can be made more accurate allowing less chance of leakage under the crown leading to decay). In addition an imolant isn't suitable for everyone, depends on the depthof bone etc, and you have to have the existing tooth removed first.

gold for all the reasons given below.
I always advised gold for my patients'back teeth even when porcelain WAS available on the NHS several years ago.

hmm, looks like I'll be going for gold then. Does anyone know if there is an issue about having different types of metal in your mouth? I already have a number (too high to mention ) of mercury fillings in there...

Thanks everyone

Every dentist has their own opinion on "mercury" fillings from refusing to use them to being absolutely fine about them. The time you are most likely to take it into your system is when a filling is placed and when its drilled out, that's because once the filling is set the mercury is bonded into the structure and there is currently no evidence to suggest it can escape (except when heat is generated by drilling creating vapour-but that should be dealt with by good suction and water ie the "hoover" the nurse uses). In addition you can consider taking charcoal tablets before your appointment ( avaliable at health food stores) which are supposed to absorb any murcury that may pass into your stomach and allow it to pass through your system harmlessly. Other metallys such as the ones used in crowns however ar epretty stable so if you already have a mouthful of metal I wouldn't worry about new crowns. Also what isn't always taken into consideration is the source of the mercury in your system. There is no way of proving its from your fillings, unfortunately with the levels of pollution these days it is in the air in fish etc.

And here ends the lecture!!!!! Guess I'm starting to miss the stimulation of work as I'm on maternity leave!

wow chicagomum - wish you were my dentist!

thanks for the advice - have ordered the gold ones now and am hoping for the best

kama - dunno why porcelain not available on NHS - too pricey I expect. I think they do allow porcelain on front teeth though.

• hope I'll still feel like doing this in two weeks time!

Question from Ireland - no NHS, pay for everything then clain against tax! When I got my gold crown, i love it, it was about 50 pounds more expensive than porcelain would have been. Was that due to extra prep work for porcelain? My dentist gets her crowns from England, so I assume it is not some Irish peculiarity. But why would the NHS want gold if porcelain is cheaper? (Does this question make sense?)

don't know about ireland, i assume it depends on the "quality" of the gold crown ie a gold crown isn't pure gold (as it would be too soft) in the same way as you get different gold in jewellery crowns are made with different quantities and qualities of gold mixed with other metals

I'll have to check it out, it bothered me all through my daughter's dance display last night!(The thought, not the crown which is a work of art).

my lab bills for gold or porcelain are about the same on premolars but in molars the lab bill for gold is more as they actually weigh out the exact amount of gold used.

Thanks- it is my back tooth, next to where a wisdom tooth would be, except I never got a wisdom tooth beside it. I wish sometimes it was easier to see, as it is very stylish - I have a porcelain one at the other side which just looks like a huge, filled false tooth in comparison.