Zirconia crown or PFM crown
Zirconia or PFM, what is different about the two crowns?
The short answer
A zirconia crown is PKR 58,000 per unit. PFM stands for porcelain fused to metal, and a zirconia crown has no metal under it: it is monolithic, so there is no overlaying material that can break off, which is what happens more often with metal and porcelain crowns. The only like-for-like price published here is on an implant: PKR 170,000 with a PFM crown against PKR 230,000 with zirconia.
Prices are given in writing before treatment begins. Rates are reviewed each year.
Side by side
Made of
Zirconia crown
Zirconia throughout. Monolithic, so there is no overlaying material.
PFM crown
Porcelain fused to a metal base.
Breakage
Zirconia crown
Nothing to break off, which is what happens more often with metal and porcelain crowns.
PFM crown
The overlaying porcelain is the part that can break off.
Matched to the tooth
Zirconia crown
Comes in a variety of opacities and strengths: more translucent and aesthetic for front teeth, higher strength for molars and back teeth.
PFM crown
Not covered on this site.
If you grind your teeth
Zirconia crown
Can be used in people who grind their teeth. In the past only metal crowns could be.
PFM crown
Not covered on this site.
How it is made
Zirconia crown
By a CAD/CAM process, so there is minimal human intervention in manufacture.
PFM crown
Not covered on this site.
Price
Zirconia crown
PKR 58,000 per unit. Urgent turnaround adds PKR 10,000.
PFM crown
A PFM crown on its own is not listed here. On an implant the published price is PKR 170,000, against PKR 230,000 with zirconia: a difference of PKR 60,000.
Time
Zirconia crown
Two visits: the tooth is prepared and an impression is sent to the laboratory, then the crown is fitted. Five days to a week, or two working days for urgent cases.
PFM crown
Not covered on this site.
What this page can and cannot say
On what is published here, zirconia is the crown made with no metal and nothing to break off, and it is the one priced separately at PKR 58,000. For a PFM crown on its own, or for which one suits your tooth, the price and the advice are given for your own tooth at the consultation, in writing, before anything is done.
Before you choose
A crown on a root canal tooth
A crown is separate from a root canal. If the tooth needs one after a root canal, it is quoted on its own.
Written before treatment
Prices are given in writing before treatment begins.
Common questions
Questions people ask about this choice.
01What is a zirconia crown?
Zirconia is monolithic, so there is no overlaying material that can break off, which is what happens more often with metal and porcelain crowns. It comes in a variety of opacities and strengths, and it can be used in people who grind their teeth.
02How long does a crown take?
It takes two visits: the tooth is prepared and an impression is sent to the laboratory, then the crown is fitted. Turnaround is five days to a week, or two working days for urgent cases.
Ask before you decide, and get the price in writing.
Ask about a crown, and get the price for your tooth in writing before anything is done.