Disadvantages of Gold Based Full Cast Restorations
Posted on 09/22/2011
There are three main disadvantages of the gold based full cast metal restorations:
- Aesthetics
- Price Volatility
- Softness
Aesthetics is typically the number one reason why more doctors do not prescribe gold crowns. An increasing number of patients are reluctant to see metal anywhere in their mouth (even in the posterior molars), and this forces doctors to prescribe alternative materials even if the alternatives may not last as long as gold.
Price volatility is another big consideration and in today's economy with the price of gold at record levels, it is not easy to convince a patient to pay more money for a gold tooth. Additionally, most doctors do not enjoy price guessing for lab work, they prefer to know the price of a restoration before prescribing it. With gold, the price of a restoration depends on the amount of gold alloy being used, so the final lab bill can be sometimes 50 to 60% more than expected if the the tooth prep required a lot of gold
Finally, the issue of softness of gold is a consideration for high gold content crowns. Because gold is a soft and malleable metal, it really cannot be prescribed for bridges if the gold content is high. However, most dental labs use gold alloys (not pure gold) - usually containing palladium (Pd), indium (In), rhodium (Rh) or tantalum (Ta) - each of which can add strength to gold.
- Aesthetics
- Price Volatility
- Softness
Aesthetics is typically the number one reason why more doctors do not prescribe gold crowns. An increasing number of patients are reluctant to see metal anywhere in their mouth (even in the posterior molars), and this forces doctors to prescribe alternative materials even if the alternatives may not last as long as gold.
Price volatility is another big consideration and in today's economy with the price of gold at record levels, it is not easy to convince a patient to pay more money for a gold tooth. Additionally, most doctors do not enjoy price guessing for lab work, they prefer to know the price of a restoration before prescribing it. With gold, the price of a restoration depends on the amount of gold alloy being used, so the final lab bill can be sometimes 50 to 60% more than expected if the the tooth prep required a lot of gold
Finally, the issue of softness of gold is a consideration for high gold content crowns. Because gold is a soft and malleable metal, it really cannot be prescribed for bridges if the gold content is high. However, most dental labs use gold alloys (not pure gold) - usually containing palladium (Pd), indium (In), rhodium (Rh) or tantalum (Ta) - each of which can add strength to gold.
