What Does a Dental Crown Cost?

If you need a dental crown, you may be feeling overwhelmed with the dollar signs that you are being shown. But finding the right dental crown is much more important than simply finding the cheapest. By taking a look at all of the dental crown options out there, you should be able to find a crown that’s the perfect marriage between cost and function. From full metal to porcelain to resin, here are some of the most popular crown options.

Full Metal Crowns

Metal crowns are the more traditional approach to crowning teeth. Usually made of metal grade gold, these crowns require less of your tooth to be removed before placement. Metal crowns typically also last the longest out of all of the crown options. The downside? Gold crowns are shiny and conspicuous, making them a poor option for your front teeth. Instead, people often have gold crowns fitted on molars or back teeth that no one will see. The upside? The cost of metal dental crowns is fairly flexible depending on the ratio of precious metals used. Metal crowns also do not wear down opposing teeth. These crowns typically run around $750 to $1400.

Porcelain-Metal Crown

For those who don’t want a bright gold crown shining in their mouth, crowns made of porcelain fused to metal are a good option. For these crowns, a metal crown is covered in a porcelain layer. This porcelain can also be color matched to teeth, perfect for a tooth that’s in the front of your mouth. The downside to these crowns is that the porcelain will wear the opposing teeth down over time and can possibly chip or crack. You can also wear the porcelain section down to the metal below, causing a dark line. But people love these crowns because they look natural. For a porcelain metal crown, you can expect to pay $700 to $1300.

Resin Crown

If you’re truly looking to save money, consider a dental crown made of resin. Instead of metal or porcelain, you tooth is crowned with a synthetic resin. While these crowns are cost effective, they have a high tendency of wearing down the opposite teeth. The strong, yet brittle resin also cracks more easily than other crowns. But you can’t beat the savings these crowns can provide. As the most inexpensive type of crown, you can expect to pay $600 to $1200 for a resin crown.

Full Porcelain Crowns

But if you’re not concerned with money, consider getting an all porcelain crown. These crowns can be color matched to any shade of teeth, perfect for a missing or damaged front tooth. These crowns do wear down opposite teeth and can crack, but may still be an option if you’re concerned with appearances. These crowns run around $800 to $1800 depending on the extent of fabrication. Most porcelain crowns have to be sent out to an independent fabricator.

Choosing a Dental Crown

Picking the right dental fixture is all about balancing functionality with dental crown cost. Metal provides a sturdy crown, but is conspicuous. Porcelain is a good option but may wear down teeth. Resin crowns are least expensive, but may damage surrounding teeth and may crack easily.