I’m also kinda nervous about how strong they are compared to porcelain—like, do they chip more easily?
That’s what I keep wondering too. My kid grinds their teeth at night, so I worry about chipping or cracks. Does anyone know if zirconia holds up better for kids who clench or grind?
Does anyone know if zirconia holds up better for kids who clench or grind?
My youngest is a serious grinder—like, you can hear it from the hallway at night. We went with zirconia after two porcelain crowns cracked within a year. The zirconia one’s still going strong after almost three years. I was skeptical at first, but honestly, it’s been way tougher than the porcelain ever was.
The zirconia one’s still going strong after almost three years. I was skeptical at first, but honestly, it’s been way tougher than the porcelain ever was.
That lines up with what I've seen too. My oldest grinds his teeth like crazy—dentist called it “bruxism” but all I know is we can hear it through the wall some nights. He cracked a porcelain crown in less than a year, and that was after we’d already tried to be careful about what he ate.
We switched to zirconia after that. It’s not as translucent as porcelain, so it doesn’t look quite as natural up close (at least not on front teeth), but for molars? I’ll take durability over looks any day. His zirconia crown’s been in for a little over two years now, and there’s not even a chip.
I did ask our dentist about the pros and cons before making the switch. She said zirconia is just a lot stronger under pressure—especially with grinding or clenching—and less likely to fracture compared to porcelain-fused-to-metal or all-porcelain crowns. Downside is, if a zirconia crown ever does break, it tends to split completely rather than just chipping like porcelain sometimes does. But honestly, we haven’t had that issue.
One thing we noticed: the zirconia crown seems to wear down the opposing tooth a bit more than porcelain did. Not sure if anyone else has seen that? Dentist said it’s something to watch for with kids who really grind hard.
All in all, if you’re dealing with a heavy grinder, zirconia feels like the safer bet. The peace of mind alone is worth it—I got tired of emergency dental visits every few months. Only thing I’d do differently is maybe ask about getting a night guard too... might help save both the crown and the rest of their teeth in the long run.
Not a perfect solution, but way less hassle than replacing broken crowns every year.
Interesting point about zirconia wearing down the opposing tooth more—I’ve actually heard that from a couple of dentists, and it’s something that made me pause before choosing zirconia for myself. I grind my teeth too (night guard club over here), and while I love the idea of a crown that doesn’t chip, I was a little worried about what it might do to the tooth above it. My dentist mentioned that newer zirconia crowns can be polished really smooth to help with that, but I guess it still depends on the person.
I went with porcelain-fused-to-metal for a back molar a few years ago, mostly because I was nervous about the “complete split” thing if zirconia ever fails. It hasn’t chipped yet, but I’m not a super heavy grinder, so maybe that’s why. I do think if someone’s breaking porcelain crowns every year, it’s hard to argue against zirconia, but I’d say it’s not always a slam dunk for everyone. The wear on the other teeth is a real tradeoff, especially for younger folks who might need those teeth to last a lifetime.
Night guards really are underrated, by the way... mine’s saved me more than once from waking up with jaw pain.
Totally get where you’re coming from on the zirconia vs. porcelain-fused-to-metal debate. I’ve got one of each, and honestly, the zirconia feels like it could survive a nuclear blast, but I do worry about my upper molar taking the brunt of it over time. My dentist mentioned that polishing helps, but I still notice a bit more wear than with my older PFM crown. Has anyone else actually had to replace an opposing tooth because of this, or is it mostly just a theoretical risk? Sometimes I wonder if the peace of mind with zirconia is worth that tradeoff...
