Expert: Rafael Mosery,D.D.S. - 11/21/2006

Question
Hi Rafael, I need to get a crown on a back tooth, but am having doubts about advice I received. I was decided on a gold crown, but my new dentists told me a crown with a porcelain layer on top would look better, and also had the benefit of only needing the porcelain layer replaced if the crown "got a hole in it," where a gold one would be in worse shape with a hole.

However, when I looked on the internet I read that porcelain crowns are bad for people who grind their teeth during sleep, which I do.

Is there any good reason why I should not have a gold crown in my situation. I do not care about how it looks, and I grind my teeth. The only possible benefit would be if the crown is damaged, but I am not sure if this is very likely.

Best Regards

Mike Turner

Answer
Hey Mike,
If this is to replace a molar tooth then GOLD is the way to go. If it shows when you smile you could have the biting surface from gold and the cheekside surface with porcelain. As far as the hole theory goes, the crown is history if it's perforated like that.You would have to be chewing on nails for years to perforate a gold or porcelain crown.What you read is 100% accurate! When I have a grinder that needs a crown my restoration of choice is GOLD. When I needed a crown done on my first molar guess what I used.....GOLD.Go for the gold,find a dentist that loves working with gold, porcelain doesn't hold a candle to a gold restoration except for one thing cosmetics
otherwise gold is the best restoration available.
Good Luck,
Dr.Rafael Mosery