Question:
how does a ceramco crown compare to procera or empress ll?
Answer:
what is the range on these crown costs - low to high?
also, can you explain what a captek crown is?
You mean lab fees? I pay anywhere from $110 to $165 or so to the dental lab
depending on the type of crown prescribed. That's here in the Midwest at a
moderate fee dental lab. Some discount labs are a bit less and there are some
"premium" labs that charge more. I can't tell you what the final dental fees
are in your area. My fees here range from $575 to $625 again depending on the
material chosen.
A Captek crown has nearly pure gold coping (not really a casting) that is then
fused to the porcelain overlay. I like these very much. Esthetics are very
good because of the warm gold color underneath and they have adequate strenght
for single crowns and short span bridges. Fee in the mid to high range both
for the lab and the fee your dentist may charge.
This is interesting. Do you allow the patient to have any input as to
preference? I have 9 crowns and have never been given any choice. If a
gold based one was $100 or less more I surely would have chosen it.
I used to offer a bunch of options, but it got too confusing. I just
decided to raise my fees $50 and only use the best materials. The
actual cost difference is not huge.
Stainless steel -- whenever a patient absolutely cannot afford a
laboratory-made crown. If it's anterior and the patient can't afford a
crown, I'll do a giant composite reinforced with pins and tell them to pray
a lot.
As for the FDA approved materials, if you are using prosthesis manufactured in
countries other than the US the FDA has no control over the materials or
manufacturers of the materials of those prosthesis. Talk about risk management
issues. And if that country has not entered into a Mutual Recogonition
agreement with the European Union then there is no hope that the FDA equivalent
in there country even oversee the materials at all.
