Over the years in dentistry, the most common type of crown or cap was made with a metal core and a porcelain/ceramic outer coating, referred to by dentists as a porcelain-fused-to-metal or PFM crown. The metal core was necessary to create the needed strength to resist fracture of the porcelain material. Today in dentistry, advances in dental materials have made it possible to restore teeth with enamel like crowns that do not have any metal in the core of the crown, yet are very strong and durable. These new generation crowns are more natural and translucent like real teeth. If your dentist is up to date with knowledge of all the current day choices of materials, he or she can personalize the choice of materials to best suit your individual needs or wants.
An all porcelain/ceramic crown may be made by a dental lab or sometimes it can be made in the dental office with the use of Cad/Cam technology and equipment (computer aided design/ computer aided manufacturing). If the crown is made by a lab, your dentist will make a temporary acrylic crown to protect your tooth for two or three weeks until the porcelain crown is ready. With Cad/Cam technology the crown will be made in office in an hour or two and permanently cemented before your leave. There will then be no need for a second visit or a temporary crown, and no need for being numbed a second time.