Gold vs Zirconia

[Goldzircstein]

Hello,

If someone needs a crown for a lower back tooth, is gold better than zirconia? Especially when considering opposing teeth? From doing some basic research it would appear that a gold crown is, aesthetics aside, the best choice. I have also been told this by a dentist. However, there is a website for the "Cleveland Clinic" in which a description of zirconia crowns includes that they are gentle on opposing teeth, resulting in less enamel wear (they do not mention gold). Additionally, another dentist told me that zirconia was actually better for preserving opposing teeth. Is there a consensus based on a scientific standard of research?

The only explanation I can think of is that zirconia is made so precisely that there is never any mechanical or other problem in relation to the harmony and health of the other teeth. If that is the case I would expect it to be widely acknowledged but I can't find any decisive research about it.

If there are dentists who have an answer as to whether zirconia is as good as or better than gold, I would be interested in hearing from them. Everything seems to suggest gold is better but then a dentist made this claim about zirconia and I subsequently found the Cleveland Clinic site that seems to support it (again, they did not mention any comparison to gold). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MattKW]

I would prefer gold for my back teeth. Zirconia can be comparable as long as it's polished well after any adjustments with the correct polishing burs. Gold is more forgiving. Here's a couple of articles with highlighted text.

 

[Goldzircstein]

Thank you.

 

[Goldzircstein]

If someone got a PFM or Zirconia prep and then wanted to put a gold crown on instead, would they need to take new molds? If the person had to go to another dentist for the gold crown, would the second dentist need 1hr20m to take a new mold that would be sent to a lab for the gold crown. It seems odd if the prep has already been done and there are already molds at the first dentist's office. Is the mold for the gold crown done differently than the one for PFM or Zirconia?