Filling, veneer or crown?
| Situation | Usually the answer |
|---|---|
| Small to moderate decay, plenty of tooth left | Filling. Do not let anyone crown a tooth a filling can hold |
| Healthy front tooth, wrong shape, colour or length | Veneer. Covers the front only, removes the least tooth |
| Large old filling that keeps breaking, or a cracked cusp | Crown. The tooth needs wrapping, not more filling |
| Back tooth after a root canal | Crown, almost always. Root-treated molars split without one |
| Front tooth after a root canal | Often a filling is enough. Ask before accepting a crown |
| An implant replacing a missing tooth | Crown, screwed or cemented onto the implant |
| Several teeth missing in a row | Bridge on the neighbouring teeth, or implants. Both are quoted so you can compare |
If the question is really about the whole smile rather than one tooth, the Hollywood smile guide explains when veneers, crowns or a mix of the two is the honest plan, and what each removes from the tooth.
Materials, compared honestly
| e.max (lithium disilicate) | Zirconia | Metal-ceramic (PFM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looks | Best. Translucent like enamel | Very good; modern layered zirconia is close | Dated. A grey line often shows at the gum over time |
| Strength | Strong enough for front teeth and most premolars | Strongest. The choice for molars and grinders | Strong, but the ceramic facing can chip off the metal |
| Tooth removed | Least | A little more | Most |
| Best for | Front teeth, smile-zone crowns | Molars, bridges, night grinders, implant crowns | Rarely our first choice now |
We choose per tooth, not per patient. A typical plan might be e.max on the visible upper teeth and zirconia on the molars, and the written quote names which is going where. If a quote just says "ceramic crown", it is not a quote you can compare against another clinic.
When there is not enough tooth left: post and core
A crown needs something to hold on to. After a root canal, or after a large old filling finally fails, there is sometimes very little natural tooth standing above the gum — and cementing a crown onto a stump that thin is how crowns come off in a year.
The answer is a post and core: a fibre or metal post is fitted into the prepared root canal to anchor a build-up of filling material, and that build-up becomes the shape the crown is made for. It adds one step and some cost, and it is the difference between a crown that lasts and a crown that keeps coming back. If a quote for a crown on a root-treated tooth does not mention a post and core, ask whether it has been left out of the plan or out of the price.
A note on the third column above: porcelain fused to metal — the full name for PFM, also sold as metal-ceramic — was the standard crown for decades and you will still be offered it. It works. But the metal core is why a grey line eventually shows at the gum line, and why it needs the most tooth removed of the three. We use it rarely now, and when we do we say why.
The process, in two visits
- Examination and X-ray. We confirm the tooth can hold a crown, that the nerve is healthy, and that the gum around it is not inflamed. Problems found now are cheaper than problems found under a finished crown.
- Preparation (visit one). Numbed, the tooth is shaped and any missing structure is rebuilt first with a core, and a post if the tooth is root-treated and badly broken down. A digital or conventional impression is taken, the shade matched in daylight, and a temporary crown fitted.
- The laboratory, about ten to fourteen days. A technician builds the crown. Good ceramic work is craft; this stage is not one to compress for a travel date.
- Fitting (visit two). The crown is tried in, checked for fit at the margin, contact with neighbours, shade and bite, then cemented. You approve the look in a mirror before it is cemented, not after.
- Review. A short check, and a night guard if you grind.
What actually ends a crown's life
Almost never the ceramic itself. The two real killers are decay at the margin, where the crown meets the tooth just at the gum line, and grinding. The margin is a join, and a join needs cleaning — flossing around crowns is not optional, and a hygiene visit every six months catches early decay while it is still a small repair. Grinding cracks ceramic and loosens cement, and a night guard is far cheaper than remaking three crowns. If your gums bleed around a crown, that is gum disease, and it will undermine the crown from below.
What sets the price in Lebanon
A crown starts at $200 per tooth. Where a post and core is needed to rebuild a tooth that has too little structure left, that starts at $40. Both are starting figures, and the tooth has to be examined before either becomes a real number.
The examination itself is $20, and it is deducted from the cost of treatment if you go ahead — so if you are treated here, the examination has cost you nothing.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Material | e.max and zirconia differ in cost, and layered aesthetic work costs more than a monolithic molar crown |
| Laboratory | The technician's skill is most of what you are paying for in the smile zone |
| Preparatory work | A root canal, a post, a core build-up or crown lengthening are separate items and should be itemised, not bundled vaguely |
| Number of units | A bridge is quoted per unit, including the false tooth in the middle |
After your examination you receive a written, fixed, itemised quote naming the material and every visit. Nothing is added later.
A real case from this clinic
A full-arch ceramic restoration, and severe decay rebuilt into a complete smile. Both are this clinic's own patients in Beirut, published with written consent. More, with notes on what each one involved, in the before and after gallery.