What are zirconia crowns?

These are prosthetic restorations with which we compensate for the lost part of the natural tooth.

The loss of a natural tooth can occur due to large caries, tooth fracture, trauma, consumption and abrasion of the teeth, due to which they become short and sensitive to stimulation.

Ceramic crowns can be metal-ceramic or as we popularly call them today – zirconia crowns.

In the “Cvjetković” office, we have been successfully making both types for many years, with a special emphasis on zirconia crowns. We use advanced technologies, we give great importance to the function, harmony and beauty of a smile.

Our medical team plans a smile in detail using the digital smile design concept. We use computer technology to simulate the final look of your smile and then try it in your mouth before we start preparing your teeth.

Forget about traditional, sometimes awkward printing. Today, we scan our teeth, model the crowns with software and make them using the most precise machines. The result is your beautiful, natural and precise zirconia crowns.

Why are zirconia crowns a better solution?

Metal-ceramic crowns are made of gray metal alloy, over which ceramics in the color of natural teeth are baked in layers.

Zirconia crowns are made of different types of ceramics (zircon, lithium disilicate, glass ceramics, etc.), have no gray metal, are completely white and as such much easier to imitate the natural color and shape of the teeth. Although more expensive, they are always recommended if you need to do highly aesthetic dental crowns.

Zirconia crowns have opened a completely new chapter in aesthetic dentistry with their appearance and manufacturing technology. They are often used in combination with ceramic veneers to beautify smiles. They do not change color in the mouth over time, if they are made as light or white, they will stay that way permanently. Depending on your preferences, “new teeth” can be longer, larger, brighter, flatter and look completely natural.

Since they have optimal strength, similar to a natural tooth, zirconia crowns can be very thin and graceful, and strong enough. Therefore, in most situations, minimal tooth grinding is sufficient to make them. They give a natural tooth size and are not oversized as was previously the case with metal-ceramic crowns.

Zirconia crowns have white and thin edges, which is a special benefit for gum health. For the beauty of the future smile, it is important that there is a harmony between pink aesthetics (gums) and white aesthetics (crowns / teeth) and a special attention must be paid when making ceramic crowns or veneers.

Zircon as a material from which these crowns can be made, has proven to be an extremely biocompatible material, it does not give allergic reactions and the tissues tolerate it very well.

Zirconia crowns – price

In the past, due to their price, zirconia crowns were mostly made on the front teeth, and today, with the increase of patients’ awareness of the quality of zirconia crowns, they are made equally often on the side teeth.

Their price depends on the way the crown is made, the experience of the dentist, the way of cementing and many other factors.

There is a wide range of prices on the market for zirconia crowns. In our office, the price ranges from 250 eur to 500 eur. Crowns made with digital techniques with individual characterization are always more expensive.

It is important to know – in order for the crown to be long-lasting and well done, it is necessary to do all the individual stages in the making of the crown correctly, carefully, from grinding, scanning to its cementation. Also important is the “good eye” of dentists and technicians, a sense of detail as well as the overall harmony of teeth, gums and smiles.

Zirconia crowns – how long does the manufacturing process take?

The duration of making and installing dental crowns depends on whether some additional treatments are needed. In case there is no need for treatment or tooth augmentation, the process of making crowns begins with grinding the teeth. The time required to complete dental crowns also depends on the number of crowns. The use of scanners and digital tools significantly shortened the time of making the crown. Therefore, one zirconia crown can be finished in one day.

It takes a long time to make bridges of zirconia crowns. Usually, the final work is ready in a few days to a week.

During the production of definitive crowns, your teeth are protected by temporary crowns that you receive in the office immediately after the preparation of the teeth.