Derrick M. Chan, DDS
Cosmetic Dentist San Francisco
1828 Clement Street
San Francisco
Phone: (415) 221-5200

As a dentist in San Francisco with over 29 years experience, Derrick M. Chan DDS, provides the highest quality cosmetic dentistry.

Choosing Porcelain or Gold for Crowns

Caps, technically known as crowns, come in two forms: gold and porcelain. Gold crowns trace back to ancient Egypt, and are still in use today.

Porcelain commonly restores the front teeth by providing natural looking results.Both gold and porcelain crowns are metal-based. The gold crown is entirely metallic and can be quite costly. The porcelain crown bonds a porcelain shell to a metal support, called Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM). While there are other types of porcelain crowns that we use, those fused to a metal support are the most common (see Empress Crowns). To minimize the chances of allergic reactions, we use yellow gold for gold crowns and platinum for porcelain crowns. Some dentists use silver, nickel or other metals, but we prefer yellow gold and platinum for our clients.

So which to choose?

When weighing all the options for crowns, consider two main things: appearance and durability. For the front of your mouth, porcelain crowns are always the best choice. Empress creates crowns nearly identical to natural teeth with a natural translucent appearance. Unfortunately, due to their limited strength we restrict them to the front teeth where there is less force.

For the back of your mouth, consider durability and strength. The grinding and chewing you exert creates tremendous amounts of force and stress. This pressure causes most porcelain crowns to crack or fracture. Yet, breakthroughs in new platinum may allow the use of porcelain for the back of your mouth in certain instances. We feel gold is still the strongest material and best option for strength and durability.

If you need a crown, sit down with us to discuss your options in detail and choose the crown that best suits your needs.