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Dental Crowns in Dubai: Types, Cost and Materials Compared
05/12/2024 · Crowns and Bridges in Dubai
05/12/2024
Dental crowns in Dubai come in zirconia, all porcelain, E-max lithium disilicate, metal ceramic (PFM), gold alloy and composite resin, plus the temporary cap worn between visits. At Mint Dental Care a crown is AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth whichever material you choose, most crowns last 10 to 20 years, and a standard fitting takes two appointments about one to two weeks apart.
Need a crown on a cracked, heavily filled or root treated tooth? Message us on WhatsApp or call +971 4 266 6763 to book an exam at Mint Dental Care in Barsha Heights. The treatment itself is set out on our crowns and bridges page.
Crown materials compared side by side
A tooth crown is a cap that covers the whole visible tooth above the gumline and takes over its shape, height and chewing job. Materials differ in only three ways that matter to you: how closely they copy enamel, how much bite force they absorb, and how many years they hold up.
| Crown material | Appearance | Strength under chewing | Where it suits | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zirconia | Tooth coloured, less see-through than glass ceramics | Highest of the tooth coloured materials | Molars, grinders, implant crowns | 15 years or more |
| Layered zirconia | Shaded surface with added translucency | High | Front and back teeth | 15 years or more |
| E-max lithium disilicate | Very translucent, closest to enamel | High for a glass ceramic, stays strong when thin | Single front teeth, cosmetic cases | 10 to 15 years |
| All porcelain | Scatters light like enamel | Moderate | Front teeth under light bite load | 10 to 15 years |
| Metal ceramic (PFM) | Porcelain over a metal core, a grey line can show at the gum | High | Back teeth, bridge anchors | 10 to 15 years |
| Gold alloy or metal | Gold or silver coloured, clearly visible | Very high, flexes with the bite instead of cracking | Out of sight molars | 20 years or more |
| Composite resin | Tooth coloured at first, dulls and stains with time | Low | Short term cover, children | 5 to 7 years |
| Strip crown | Tooth coloured resin shell | Low | Front primary teeth in children | Until the baby tooth is shed |
| Temporary crown | Right shape, not shade matched | Low, cemented loosely on purpose | Protects the tooth between visits | 1 to 3 weeks |
How to read the comparison
Read the table from right to left. Decide first how many years you want the restoration to serve, then check whether that material can take the force your tooth sees, and only then look at how it will appear. A crown that looks lifelike but fractures in two years has failed at the part that matters.
What the table does not decide
The table does not set your price. Our published fee is AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth for a crown, and that same band covers veneers, so moving from composite to zirconia is a clinical decision rather than a jump to a different price list. The material is agreed with you at the consultation.
Every crown material in detail
Zirconia crowns
Zirconia is a dense ceramic and the toughest tooth coloured crown material in routine use, which is why it goes on molars and on the teeth of patients who clench at night. It contains no metal, so there is nothing to show through at the gum and nothing to react with. Modern layered zirconia is shaded during manufacture, so it no longer looks flat and opaque.
Porcelain crowns
An all porcelain crown handles light the way enamel does, picking up colour from the neighbouring teeth instead of sitting on top of them. It is metal free, resists coffee and tea staining well, and is the usual pick for an upper front tooth. It is more brittle than zirconia, so it rarely goes on a molar. Our page on porcelain crowns in Dubai shows finished cases.
Full porcelain crowns and bridges
Full porcelain can also be used for a short bridge, where two crowned teeth carry a false tooth between them. Span length is the limit: porcelain alone is fine across one missing front tooth, while a longer or load bearing bridge is usually built on a zirconia or metal ceramic framework instead.
E-max lithium disilicate crowns
E-max is pressed from lithium disilicate, a glass ceramic that is translucent and still strong at thin sections. Because it works thin, less healthy tooth has to be shaved away before fitting. It is the material of choice for a single front tooth that has to disappear among its neighbours, though a heavy grinding molar is safer in zirconia.
Metal ceramic crowns, also called PFM
A metal ceramic crown in Dubai is the same thing as a PFM crown: a cast metal shell with porcelain baked over it. The metal makes it reliable under load and a dependable bridge anchor. Two things age it. Gums can recede and reveal a grey line at the margin, and the porcelain layer can chip off the metal under grinding.
Gold dental crowns and other metals
A gold dental crown in Dubai is still the longest serving option on a molar. Gold alloy flexes a little with the bite rather than fracturing, is kind to the opposing tooth, and needs the least tooth reduction of any crown. The single drawback is colour, so these are kept to teeth nobody sees when you smile or speak.
Composite resin crowns
Composite resin is moulded directly onto the tooth or built in the lab from the same material used for white fillings. It is the quickest and most affordable tooth cover and often goes on in one visit. It wears and discolours faster than ceramic, so plan on five to seven years rather than fifteen.
Strip crowns for children
A strip crown is a clear plastic former filled with tooth coloured composite, pressed over a decayed front milk tooth and set with a curing light, then peeled away. It restores a child’s front tooth in one appointment and is meant to last until that baby tooth falls out naturally. Back milk teeth are usually covered with a preformed metal crown instead.
Temporary crowns
A temporary crown is an acrylic or resin cap fitted on the day the tooth is prepared. It keeps the tooth sealed, stops the gum growing over the margin and lets you eat normally for one to three weeks. It is cemented with a soft cement so it lifts off cleanly at the next visit. A temporary crown is not on our published price list, so it is quoted at the consultation.
Metal free dental crowns
A metal free dental crown in Dubai means zirconia, all porcelain or E-max. Patients ask for metal free for two reasons: no grey margin as the gum line moves over the years, and no nickel or chromium in the mouth if they have reacted to costume jewellery or other alloys before. All three materials are also fine next to an MRI scan.
Cosmetic crowns: what changes when the crown is for appearance
Cosmetic crowns are the same restorations chosen for a tooth that shows. The engineering question becomes a colour question, and the planning takes longer because the crown has to match the teeth beside it in shade, surface texture and the way it catches light.
Cosmetic crowns compared with veneers
A veneer is a facing on the front surface only and suits a sound tooth with a colour or shape problem. A crown wraps the whole tooth and is what you need once the tooth is cracked, root treated or largely filling. Both sit in the same AED 1,500 to 3,000 band. Our guide to veneers compared with crowns walks through which cases go which way.
How the shade is chosen
Shade is picked in natural light against a shade guide, with a photograph sent to the lab. If you are planning whitening, do it before the crown is made, because ceramic does not lighten later and the crown has to match your final tooth colour rather than your current one.
How much tooth is removed
Every crown needs between 1 and 2 mm of tooth taken off all round so the cap is not bulky. E-max and gold need the least, zirconia a little more, metal ceramic the most because it carries two layers. The reduction is done under local anaesthetic in one sitting.
Which crown suits your tooth
Three facts settle the material: where the tooth sits in the arch, how hard you bite, and whether anything else is going on with that tooth such as a root canal or an implant. The table below is how we usually start the conversation.
| Your situation | Material usually chosen | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Upper front tooth that shows fully | E-max or all porcelain | Highest translucency, blends with neighbours |
| First or second molar | Zirconia | Takes chewing load without chipping |
| You grind or clench at night | Zirconia, plus a nightguard | Resists fracture better than glass ceramics |
| Rear molar, appearance not a concern | Gold alloy | Longest service life, least tooth removed |
| Tooth after a root canal | Zirconia or metal ceramic | The tooth is brittle and needs full coverage |
| Crown on a dental implant | Zirconia | Screws or cements onto the abutment, no metal show |
| History of reaction to metal alloys | Zirconia, porcelain or E-max | No metal anywhere in the restoration |
| Child’s decayed front milk tooth | Strip crown | One visit, lasts until the tooth is shed |
After a root canal
A root treated tooth has lost its blood supply and its inner structure, and it fractures far more readily than a living tooth. Covering it is the step that keeps it in the mouth, which is why a crown after a root canal is planned at the same time as the root treatment itself.
On a dental implant
An implant crown is the visible tooth that attaches to the titanium post through an abutment. Zirconia is the common choice because an implant has no nerve to warn you about overload, so the crown has to absorb force on its own. It is made after the implant has integrated with the bone.
Dental crown treatment in Dubai, visit by visit
Dental crown treatment in Dubai follows the same sequence in any licensed clinic. Knowing the order means you can plan around travel and work, and it tells you what is happening in your mouth at each stage.
| Stage | What happens | Time in the chair |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | Tooth checked, X-ray taken, material and shade discussed | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Preparation | Local anaesthetic, decay removed, tooth reshaped, core built up if needed | 45 to 60 minutes |
| Scan or impression | Digital scan or putty impression sent to the lab | 10 minutes |
| Temporary crown | Resin cap fitted and bite checked | 15 minutes |
| Lab work | Crown made and shaded away from the clinic | 1 to 2 weeks, no appointment |
| Fitting | Temporary off, fit and bite checked, crown cemented | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Review | Gum margin and bite rechecked | 10 to 15 minutes |
What the first visit feels like
The preparation appointment is done under local anaesthetic, so you feel pressure and hear the handpiece but not the drilling itself. Numbness wears off over two to three hours. Some tenderness around the gum for a day or two is normal, and a mild painkiller covers it.
Living with the temporary crown
Avoid chewing gum, toffee and anything sticky on that side, and floss by pulling the thread out sideways rather than snapping it up, which can lift the temporary off. If the temporary does come loose, keep it and call the clinic the same day so the prepared tooth is not left open.
What is checked before the crown is cemented
Four things are confirmed at the fitting visit: the margin sits flush with the tooth, floss passes between the crown and its neighbour, your teeth meet evenly when you close, and the shade matches in daylight. Anything off is adjusted or sent back before permanent cement goes anywhere near it.
Dental crown replacement in Dubai
Crown replacement in Dubai is one of the most common reasons patients come to us, usually with a restoration placed ten or more years ago. A crown does not decay, but the tooth underneath it can, and the cement seal does not last forever.
Signs a crown needs replacing
Watch for a dark line or a visible step at the gum, a crown that feels loose or clicks when you bite, sensitivity to cold through the crown, a chipped porcelain edge, or a bad taste and smell around one tooth. Any of these means decay or a failed seal, and an X-ray will show how far it has gone.
What happens at a dental crown replacement appointment
The old crown is sectioned and lifted off under local anaesthetic, which does not harm the tooth beneath. Any decay is cleared, the remaining tooth is rebuilt where it has been undermined, and the stump is reshaped. A new scan is taken and a temporary crown goes on while the replacement is made.
Can the same crown be re-cemented
Sometimes. If a crown comes off whole, the tooth under it is sound and the margin is intact, the original crown can be cleaned and cemented back. If there is decay, a crack in the root, or the fit has opened up, re-cementing simply seals the problem in, so a new crown is made instead.
What a replacement costs
A replacement crown is quoted from the same published figure as a first crown, AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth. What can add to the visit is work found underneath: a root canal at AED 1,500 to 3,500 if the nerve is involved, or an extraction at AED 600 if the root has split beyond repair.
How long crowns last and what shortens them
Ten to twenty years is the honest range, and your habits move you within it more than the material does. The crown itself almost never wears out first. What fails is the join at the gum, or the tooth holding it.
Habits that cut a crown’s life short
Night grinding is the quiet one, and a nightguard is the single most effective protection you can buy for a crowned tooth. Chewing ice, cracking nuts and pistachio shells, opening packaging with your teeth and biting pens all load the ceramic in ways it was not designed for.
Looking after the gum margin
Decay starts at the line where crown meets tooth, so that line is where your floss or interdental brush has to reach every day. Scaling and polishing at AED 500 keeps the margin clean and lets us inspect it, and most crowned patients come twice a year rather than once.
Why a crown can feel sensitive
A live tooth under a new crown can be cold sensitive for a few weeks while the nerve settles. Sensitivity that appears years later, or a dull ache on biting, is different and usually points to a leaking margin or a nerve that has become inflamed, so it needs an X-ray rather than sensitive toothpaste.
Dental crown cost in Dubai
A dental crown at Mint Dental Care costs AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth. That is our published figure and it covers crowns and veneers alike, so it does not change when you choose zirconia over composite. Where you land in the band depends on case complexity, and your exact figure is confirmed after the exam.
| Item | Published price |
|---|---|
| Crown or veneer | AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth |
| Consultation with a general dentist | AED 200 |
| Consultation with a specialist | AED 300 |
| Periapical or bitewing X-ray | AED 150 |
| Panoramic X-ray | AED 250 |
| Root canal, if the nerve needs treating first | AED 1,500 to 3,500 |
| Composite filling, where a core build up is needed | AED 400 to 800 |
| Extraction, if the tooth cannot be saved | AED 600 |
| Scaling and polishing | AED 500 |
| Temporary crown | Quoted at consultation |
Why the price is not quoted per material
Patients often arrive expecting one number for porcelain and another for zirconia. Our list does not work that way. One band covers the crown whatever it is made from, which means the clinical discussion stays clinical: the material is chosen for your tooth, not for the invoice.
What can add to the total
The crown fee covers the crown. Anything the tooth needs before it can hold one is separate, and the published figures for those steps are in the table above. The full list is on our dental service prices page, and we go through what your insurance plan covers before anything starts.
Is an affordable crown a weaker crown
Not at this clinic, because the price does not track the material. An affordable dental crown in Dubai becomes a problem only when a clinic saves money on the fit: a margin that does not seal, a bite left high, or a lab with no shade control. Those are the things worth asking about.
Where to get a dental crown in Dubai
Mint Dental Care is in Barsha Heights, also known as TECOM, off Sheikh Zayed Road between Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Marina. The clinic is MOHAP-licensed and holds a 4.9-star patient rating.
Getting here from across the city
Patients drive in from Bur Dubai, Motor City, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Village and the Marina, and Internet City metro station is a short ride away. Barsha Heights parking is straightforward outside peak hours, so a preparation appointment booked mid morning is the easiest one to keep.
Questions worth asking any clinic
Ask which material is being proposed and why that one for your tooth, where the crown is being made, how long the lab turnaround is, what happens if the shade comes back wrong, and what the practice does if the crown fails within a couple of years. Clear answers tell you a lot.
Choosing a crown is really two decisions in order: save the tooth, then decide what covers it. Front teeth reward the translucency of E-max or porcelain, molars and grinders reward the toughness of zirconia or gold, and a temporary cap bridges the gap while the permanent one is made. Since the published fee is the same band whatever the material, that choice can be made on your tooth alone, and a 20 minute exam with an X-ray is usually all it takes to settle it.
Mint Dental Care, Barsha Heights (TECOM), Dubai. MOHAP-licensed, 4.9-star patient rating. Call +971 4 266 6763, message us on WhatsApp, or use the contact page to book a crown assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a tooth crown actually do?
A tooth crown caps the whole visible tooth and takes over its shape, height and chewing force, holding together a tooth that has too little structure left for a filling. It is cemented permanently, cleaned like a normal tooth, and keeps a damaged tooth in the mouth rather than having it removed.
How much does a dental crown cost in Dubai?
At Mint Dental Care a dental crown costs AED 1,500 to 3,000 per tooth, and that published figure covers crowns and veneers in any material. Consultation is AED 200 with a general dentist or AED 300 with a specialist. Anything the tooth needs first, such as a root canal, is quoted separately.
What is a metal ceramic crown?
A metal ceramic crown, usually written PFM, has a cast metal shell with porcelain fired over it. The metal carries the load and the porcelain gives the tooth colour. It is dependable on back teeth and as a bridge anchor, but a grey line can appear at the gum as gums recede over the years.
Which crown is stronger, zirconia or porcelain?
Zirconia is considerably stronger. It is a dense ceramic that resists fracture under molar chewing force, while all porcelain is more brittle and is kept to front teeth under lighter load. If you grind at night or need a molar crowned, zirconia is the material that holds up.
What is a strip crown and who is it for?
A strip crown is a clear former packed with tooth coloured composite and cured over a decayed front baby tooth, then peeled off to leave a natural looking cover. It is a children’s restoration, done in one appointment, and lasts until that milk tooth is shed. Back milk teeth usually take a preformed metal crown.
How often does a crown need replacing?
Most crowns run 10 to 20 years before replacement, with gold at the long end and composite at the short end. Replacement is driven by decay at the margin or a loosened seal rather than by the crown wearing out. A dark line, looseness or new sensitivity means it is time for an X-ray.
Can a crown on a front tooth look natural?
Yes, and that is what cosmetic crowns in E-max or all porcelain are for. Both are translucent enough to pick up colour from the teeth beside them instead of looking like a flat tab. Shade and surface texture are matched in daylight and checked again before the crown is cemented.
Does getting a crown hurt?
The tooth is prepared under local anaesthetic, so you feel pressure and vibration rather than the reshaping. Numbness fades over two to three hours and the gum can be tender for a day or two, which a standard painkiller handles. The fitting visit usually needs no anaesthetic at all.