Because my dentist has given me one, without my knowing about it. The hygienist had been muttering about a “gold inlay” but I didn’t twig that my crown was gold till I went to the bathroom in the supermarket later. I’m reasonably chuffed although everybody else says they’d prefer one that looked like an actual tooth. I don’t care.
Anyway I wondered if it would be worth anything. I know that if I wasn’t getting the treatment on the NHS the whole thing would be costing two, maybe three hundred pounds. How much of that is the material of the crown? My mother told me the usual stuff they use, white sort of porcelainy stuff, is very expensive. Is there any chance of anyone spotting my gold crown and deciding to bump me off for it?
I’m also discovering many other people have these things too. I don’t approve of that.
And, without insurance, (or whatever your NHS is) your cost would be 2-300 pounds? Yeesh! My co-pay for this crown was a touch over $800 four years ago.
As for what’s in your mouth - a porcelain crown is made by taking a gold crown and bonding porcelain to it. So, while there’s a touch less gold in it, there’s more labor involved, and I’d been told that the porcelain costs a smidge more than gold on an ounce-for-ounce basis, when you account for the extra processing. Also, the “raw” gold is malleable - over the years, it may “moosh” a bit, whereas porcelain might crack.
One value of a gold crown is in its suitability and superior performance as a dental material. See here for info on crown materials, advantages and disadvantages.
