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Crowns are a long-lasting solution for cracked or damaged teeth that improve the function and aesthetics of your smile on both front teeth and back teeth. Our dentists and specialists are going to discuss the problem with cracks and how a small problem can quickly develop into a bigger one if not treated by our expert clinical team. Crowns are a cheaper alternative to dental implants as they only replace the visible part of the tooth and not the root.
We’ll discuss what a crown (sometimes called a cap) can be made from as there are many different materials we can use. This can depend on the nature of the problem or your budget. Like most things in life, there are simple fixes and more complex ones and the prices and procedures will be different depending on what you want.
We will talk about the costs, procedure and alternatives so you can make the best decision that is not only in your best interests from a clinical perspective but also from a personal one. You must choose what is right for you and there are a few different options to consider. There’s also an FAQ section to answer all your questions about getting crowns in Liverpool.
Teeth can become cracked or damaged in a number of different ways. Sometimes decay due to poor dental hygiene causes small fissures to open up or caries to form (this is the dental word for tooth decay) Even small cracks can be problematic as they allow bacteria into the tooth that further weakens it and the cracks get bigger.
So when cracks become chips and teeth become broken and painful there is the option of a filling to repair the damage if it has not progressed too far. If a filling is not an option then the next best choice is often a crown. This is a ceramic, metal or mixed ceramic and metal restoration that covered the entire surface of the broken tooth.
First of all it’s important to get some semantics covered off. A crown describes a restoration that covers the entire tooth, a cap is what people call either crowns or filings. We have another article about the different types of fillings you can get and these can be on the back or front teeth. Fillings typically cover one, two or sometimes more surfaces of the teeth whereas a crown covers the whole thing. Crowns can be made from:
This is the same porcelain you know and love and is a frequently used dental material because of its extremely high compression strength. It still chips or cracks though so is not indestructible. Porcelain Veneers are also (obviously) made from porcelain. Composite veneers and composite bonding (that is used for fixing chips on the front teeth) are made from resin which is more like a very hard plastic material. If you’ve a chip or crack on your front tooth take a look at our page here on composite bonding.
EMAX is prepared from Lithium Disilicate which is a glass-like form of ceramic and has very natural and beautiful properties to it. Zirconia is what fake diamonds are made of and is a synthetic carbon material that is also extremely strong and looks great in the mouth.
Metal crowns include gold or silver alloys. Gold is great in the mouth because it is resistant to bacteria, strong and durable. Your restorations are not pure gold and silver but made from alloys called ‘noble dental alloys’ and are yellow, grey or silver in colour and contain about 20% gold and 20% Palladium or 40% silver and a often a small amount of zinc or iridium. But let us worry about this. They look like gold or silver, are safe and are a great choice.
This type of crown has it all. The strength, bacterial resistance and resilience of metal with the aesthetic appeal of ceramic. Another wonderful choice. Your dentist will advise you which is the best option depending on how damaged the tooth is, where it is in the mouth, your individual clinical indications and also how you want the end result to look.
A crown covers the whole of the tooth and acts as a shell. A dental filling removes a damaged part of the tooth, usually decay or a fractured part, and a paste (either composite or amalgam) is then used to restore the broken part of the tooth.
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By now you should understand the almost infinite combination of clinician, lab, material, tooth and pathology that will affect how your crown is made, what it’s made from and how it is placed in the mouth. There is also your own input and what you want the crown to look like to think about when calculating the cost. So it’s impossible to itemise the cost accurately without first assessing you. The fastest way to make an appointment is to call 0151 236 5166 or fill in the form in the footer of this page right at the bottom.
Our crowns generally fall into three categories for price for you to choose and you can select either Silver, Gold or Platinum standard. These will vary in material, detail and cost. They generally start at around £850 and go up to £1000 per crown. If you require multiple crowns the costs can sometimes be reduced per crown.
Most patients pay on finance for their treatment.
We understand some work can be expensive. We help you pay with 0%APR finance options. Get an instant result in our office or at home. We offer patient finance through Medenta Finance (subject to age and status, minimum spend applies)
To find us, click the map below or Google ‘dental crowns near me’.
We asked Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann BSc BDS MSc Aes.Med. PGDip Endod. MJDF RCS (Eng) some questions about Crowns and here are her responses.
crowns are made of porcelain. They maintain their colour very well and are unlikely to stain. Because they are not made of enamel, they will not be whitened by tooth whitening treatments. It is therefore important to choose the correct shade of crown to be fitted.
a crown is prepared usually when the tooth has had local anaesthesia, so it’s a painless procedure and getting a crown doesn’t hurt.
A crown is a dental term to describe a covering that goes over the whole of the structure of the tooth. It is usually made in a lab or by a machine and is often made of metal, porcelain or a combination of the two. “Cap” is a term that some people use to describe either crowns or fillings placed to repair teeth.
A crown lasts for as long as you look after it well. When a crown is placed, it should last many years so long as the supporting tooth is of good enough quality and not too broken down or damaged.
crowns sometimes need to be replaced when they become damaged or come to the end of their usable life. This is usually a straightforward process but it depends on the quality of the underlying tooth is strong enough to be replaced again.
If you are feeling sensitivity or pain then you should address this with your dentist without delay. They may carry out tests or we can take a X-rays to see whether the underlying tooth is damaged in some way.
Crowns cannot get cavities in their surfaces, however the tooth underlying the crown can still fail and get cavities. Where the crown meets the natural tooth, there is an area that can decay and cause failure of the crown and the tooth.
The metals present in crowns are usually of such low quantities that people are rarely allergic to them. However, it is possible to get non-metal crowns and these can be made of all-porcelain or materials such as Emax or Zirconia if you are worried about allergies
The tooth under a crown can sometimes respond unfavourably to having a crown placed on it. In some cases, such as when there is a lot of damage to the tooth in the first place, this risk can be as high as 20%. This can result in the death of the tooth nerve and result in a condition known as pulpits, or inflammation of the nerve, followed by an infection. In cases like this the tooth may require further treatment, which is usually root canal treatment, or the tooth may need to be removed and replaced with a dental implant.
There are various different materials used in crowns. These can include metal, combination metal and porcelain (these are very strong and are aesthetically pleasing), porcelain or porcelain-like materials such as Emax or Zirconia. Zirconia is aesthetic and very tough and is a good option for people who do not wish to have crowns containing metals in their mouth.
Your dentist will assess the tooth and how much tooth structure is left. They will give you the options suitable for your case and decide what’s best for your tooth. This can depend on the position in the mouth, the way your bite works and the amount of tooth left and varies from person to person and tooth to tooth.
Leakage happens when part of the glue that bonds the crown to the tooth either dissolves or breaks. This can cause ingress or leakage of bacteria into the crown which can cause the crown to fail by further decaying the underlying tooth structure. This can cause pain, infection, need for replacement other treatments such as a root canal, extraction or dental Implant.
Crowns can be used to improve the appearance and function of a tooth. Some people have crowns placed for aesthetic purposes and sometimes teeth are compromised on multiple surfaces and crowns are needed to hold them together. This can be after root canal treatment or when a larger (multiple tooth surface) filling has failed. Your dentist will advise you if a crown is suitable for you.
At Smileworks, your crown is guaranteed for one year, and this extends to two if you are join our dental membership. Guarantees are valid for failure of the materials but usually exclude things like wear and tear, decay, or trauma caused by things like pen chewing, nail chewing, biting or opening beers with your teeth if you’ve lost your bottle opener.
Absolutely not. It is sometimes- but not always – cheaper, on the face of it. And you are gravely putting the health of your teeth at risk. The UK dental market is heavily regulated to make sure that dentists practise ethically and don’t put the health of your teeth or your general health at risk. Often in other countries, they do not have this regulatory framework in place, which means that unethical practise is rife. I see 30-something year olds coming back from European ‘dental holidays’ with 28 crowns in their heads simply because they thought it was a good idea and saw an ad on Facebook. If you are considering cheap treatment abroad then take a look at the link.
In the UK, a dentist would more than likely get struck off for this type of treatment, as it is unnecessarily risky to the teeth and classed as over treatment and totally unnecessary. In years to come, these poor patients will have to invest huge amounts of money in the upkeep of their crowns, (this can be up to £100,000 over your lifetime). Often, your dentists in far-flung places will neglect to tell you this because they want to make a quick fistful of Euros and put you back on the plane never to be seen again. This is coupled with the fact that sometimes placing crowns cause the nerve of the tooth to die, which means that they are likely to need further treatment such as root canals and extractions as a consequence of this work. This can result in pain and loss of the teeth. Some of the work that we see coming back from abroad is of very poor quality, which is really sad. Dentists in the UK will be unwilling to assist patients who have travelled abroad because when we touch the problem we assume full responsibility for the care which is sometimes sub-standard. So if a crown comes loose or there is a problem with the work your UK dentist will be hesitant to intervene to say the least. So you end up back on the plane to wherever, spending more and more money. I read this frequently on dental forums and Q&A forums that I am active in.
A crown covers the whole of the tooth whereas a veneer only covers the front of it.
A dental implant replaces the root of a tooth in the bone by using a titanium rod which integrates into the jawbone. A crown is then used to replace the missing tooth inside the mouth (the bit of the tooth that is on show). Crowns can also be used to cover damaged teeth to replace function, aesthetics and dental health. So every Implant needs a crown but not every crown needs an implant.
Your dentist will inform you of your options and you will be able to decide which is best for you. Some teeth are not able to be restored as they are too damaged, and they may need extraction instead.
A crown covers the whole tooth like a shell. An onlay is a structure that is usually made in a lab, which can either be made of porcelain, composite or metal, that covers part of the tooth.
No – there are lots of conspiracy theories about toxic fillings and crowns. If you consult Dr Google you will find lots of interesting characters telling you all sorts about crowns and amalgam giving you everything from cancer to dementia and generalised Anxiety Disorder. There is no sensible scientific research that confirms any of this.
