Many of you technicians out there probably know this already, but here are a few pictures that highlight visually the difference between a PFM and a zirconium crown.

Both units were made similarly in buildup as possible on composite root structures. The difference is that one was made as a porcelain fused to metal crown, the other is a zirconium crown. The pictures tell the story, but in case it’s not clear, the shadow seen on the darker looking crown on the right is the metal framework of the PFM. The substructure of the zirconium crown allows light to pass through, more closely mimicking what happens in natural teeth. This is most evidently seen using transmitted light as in the bottom two pictures. For more explanation on this subject, see my article “A Closer Look at Zirconium Oxide” here.

So what’s the bottom line? Zirconium based crowns compared to PFMs generally result in teeth that come closer to the light transmission properties seen in natural teeth. Generally, they just look better!