What Does a Dental Crown Cost, and Which Material Is Worth It?

A filling can only do so much. When a tooth is badly decayed, cracked or weakened after a root canal, the dentist will usually suggest a dental crown: a fixed cap that covers the whole tooth and keeps it from splitting when you chew. The first thing patients ask us about is dental crown cost. Mostly it comes down to the material. At iDenta in Łódź a metal-ceramic crown costs from 1500 zł, zirconia and E-MAX from 1800 zł.

When do you need a crown?

A crown makes sense when the root is healthy but little of the tooth itself is left. Most often it follows root canal treatment. Such teeth usually have a large cavity and crack more easily, especially molars, which take most of the chewing force. The dentist decides after an examination and an X-ray. If the tooth is already gone, the options are a bridge, an implant or a denture (see our article on types of dentures).

iDenta dentist's tip: A common mistake is finishing a root canal and putting the crown off “for later”. A tooth held together by a large filling can crack on ordinary food, and a crack running down the root usually means extraction. If a crown has been recommended, don't leave it for months, and until then chew anything hard on the other side.

Dental crown cost: types compared

We make every permanent crown in our prosthetic dentistry service individually, in a dental laboratory. Prices come from our price list. The dentist picks the material after an examination, mainly based on where the tooth sits and how you bite.

Zirconia crowns

Zirconium oxide is very strong and metal-free, so no dark line appears at the gum and it suits people with metal allergies. The full-contour Premium Multilayer zirconia crown is milled from a multilayer block whose colour shifts gradually from neck to edge, as in a natural tooth. It works at the front and the back and resists chipping. The other version is zirconia layered with ceramic, hand-built over a zirconia frame. It looks even more natural at the front but needs care with very hard food.

Porcelain crowns: E-MAX and hand-layered ceramic

“Porcelain” is the everyday name for metal-free ceramic crowns. An E-MAX crown is made of lithium disilicate, which lets light through much like enamel, so it is hard to tell from your own tooth. A hand-layered ceramic crown is entirely manual work: the ceramist builds the tooth up in layers and matches colour and translucency to the neighbouring teeth. It is the choice where looks matter most, such as a single front incisor.

iDenta dentist's tip: Planning to whiten your teeth? Do it before the crown. Ceramic and zirconia don't get lighter with whitening, and we match the crown to the shade your teeth have on the day. For the visit where we choose the shade, skip bright lipstick, as it throws off colour perception.

Metal-ceramic crown (SLM)

A metal-ceramic crown has a cobalt-chrome framework, laser-printed with SLM technology, under a ceramic layer. It is the least expensive ceramic crown on our price list and a long-proven option. We recommend it mainly for back teeth. At the front, metal-free crowns look better: metal blocks light, and if the gum recedes, a darker line can show at the edge.

Temporary crowns and post-and-core build-ups

While the permanent crown is at the lab, a temporary one protects the tooth. The simplest we make on the spot; a milled PMMA temporary looks better and lasts longer, e.g. during implant treatment. When very little tooth is left, we first rebuild the core with a post anchored in the canal.

What affects the total cost?

The table price covers the crown alone. Your plan may also include a consultation (from 80 zł) and an X-ray (from 60 zł), sometimes root canal treatment, a post and core or a temporary crown. Removing an old crown costs from 200 zł. You get the full figure after the examination, before any shaping starts.

How long does a dental crown last?

A crown that is looked after usually lasts many years. Exactly how long depends on the material, the tooth underneath, hygiene and your bite. Grinding is hard on crowns. The crown itself can't decay. The tooth at its edge can, which is why we check that edge at every check-up.