Is all-porcelain really much better?

[champ]

Hi, how much better/more natural do all-porcelain crowns look than PFM crowns? Thank you!

 

[Molar_bear]

Hey there. So I can’t offer much advice here but I did have a PFM crown on my molar. One thing I would note is that there was a small bit of visable metal line at the gum line on the lingual side. So was not visible otherwise. And this may have been more how it was fit. Might not normally be visible. We did have a slight issue with taking impressions with me and biting down when fitting it ?. I haven’t seen an all porcelain one to be fair though to compare overall look but the metal line. I suppose depends on the location of it and maybe if one is stronger than the other or price in making the choice too?

 

[MountainMama]

I have zirconia crowns. They are similar in looks to all porcelain, just a bit more translucent, my dentist said. I had a PFM crown on a molar years back and always had that dark line at the gum line as well.
When I had my front tooth replaced with an implant, I asked for zirconia. The lab sent a metal abutment instead of a zirconia one, and I was able to see the difference in that it appeared to change the translucency. It reflected light differently, I think. When I had it replaced with an all zirconia abutment and crown, it looked much more natural.
So it depends on what you are comfortable with. If it is very visible, like a front tooth, I would go with all porcelain. If it is a back tooth, it may not matter as much what it looks like.