Zirconia Crowns in Turkey

Zirconia arrived in dentistry because it solved two problems at once. Traditional crowns used a metal substructure for strength with porcelain fired over it — strong, but with an opaque core and a dark line that appears at the gum margin as gums recede. All-ceramic alternatives looked better but were not strong enough for back teeth. Zirconia is strong enough for molars and contains no metal.

The trade-off is translucency. Monolithic zirconia, milled from a single block, is the strongest option but slightly more opaque than natural enamel. Layered zirconia adds a hand-applied ceramic surface for better light behaviour at the cost of some strength. Which you want depends almost entirely on which tooth it is going on.

Zirconia, E-max or metal-ceramic?

What the package includes

• Full examination, panoramic X-ray and 3D scan
• Digital shade matching in natural light
• Tooth preparation under local anaesthetic
• All laboratory work in the clinic's own lab
• Temporary crowns between appointments
• A trial fitting before anything is bonded
• Four to six nights in a four-star hotel with breakfast
• All airport, hotel and clinic transfers
• A personal English-speaking coordinator
• Five-year guarantee on materials and workmanship

What is not included

Flights are excluded. Root canal treatment, extractions, gum therapy and build-ups under a crown are quoted separately once your X-ray has been reviewed. A tooth that is badly broken down often needs a post and core before a crown can be fitted, and this is the most common addition to a quote.

A zirconia crown is usually the right choice if

• The tooth is heavily filled and the remaining structure is at risk of fracturing.
• The tooth has had root canal treatment, which leaves it brittle.
• The tooth is cracked, worn down or already broken.
• You grind or clench, where zirconia outlasts every alternative.
• You need a crown on a back tooth, where strength matters more than translucency.
• You have an existing metal-ceramic crown with a visible dark margin.

Something else may suit you better

• The tooth is healthy and only the colour bothers you: whitening removes nothing and costs far less.
• Only the front surface needs improving and the tooth is sound: a veneer removes much less enamel.
• The tooth has untreated decay or infection, which must be dealt with first.
• You have active gum disease, which must be treated and stable.
• The front tooth needs maximum translucency: E-max is usually the better material.
• Too little tooth remains above the gum: a post and core, crown lengthening or extraction may be needed first.

Our self-check below gives you a starting answer, and a Valentmedica dentist reviews your X-ray free of charge before you commit to anything.

1. Assessment: X-rays confirm the root and surrounding bone are healthy. A tooth with an infected root needs root canal treatment before a crown goes on, not after.
2. Shade selection: taken in natural daylight against a standard guide, before the tooth is prepared. A dehydrated tooth looks lighter, which is why shade is chosen first.
3. Preparation: under local anaesthetic, the tooth is reduced by roughly 1–1.5 mm all round and 1.5–2 mm on the biting surface, creating space for the crown and a defined margin at the gum.
4. Build-up if needed: where little tooth remains, a core is built up in composite, sometimes over a post cemented into the root canal.
5. Digital scan: an intraoral scanner records the prepared tooth, the opposing teeth and how your bite closes.
6. Temporary crown: a resin temporary is made and cemented so you can eat and speak normally while the lab works.
7. Milling and sintering: the crown is milled from a zirconia block oversized, then sintered at around 1,500°C, shrinking to its exact final dimensions.
8. Trial fit: the crown is seated without cement and checked for margin fit, contact with neighbouring teeth, bite and appearance.
9. Cementation: the fitting surface is treated, the tooth cleaned and the crown cemented. The bite is refined and margins polished.

• Days 1–3: gum tenderness around the margins and sensitivity to hot and cold after preparation. Simple painkillers are enough.
• Week 1: sensitivity settles. Eat softer food and avoid extremes of temperature while it does.
• Weeks 1–2: your tongue adjusts to the new shape. Any sense of the crown being "high" should be reported — adjusting it takes minutes and prevents a fracture later.
• Weeks 2–4: the bite settles fully. Gum margins calm down and stop being tender when you brush.
• Month 1 onwards: normal function. The guarantee requires routine check-ups and hygienist appointments at home.

Valentmedica works with licensed dental clinics in Istanbul whose dentists are registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health and which run their own laboratories, so adjustments happen in hours rather than days. You are given your dentist's name and registration number before you pay anything.

Risks you should know about

• Nerve inflammation: deep preparation can irritate the pulp, and a proportion of crowned teeth later need root canal treatment.
• Sensitivity: usually temporary, occasionally persistent.
• Decay at the margin: the junction between crown and tooth is where new decay starts, which is why cleaning there matters.
• Gum recession: over years this can expose a margin, though zirconia shows no dark line when it happens.
• Chipping: rare in monolithic zirconia, more likely where a ceramic layer has been applied.
• Fracture of the underlying tooth: particularly in root-treated teeth without a post.
• Wear on opposing teeth: zirconia is harder than enamel, so a poorly polished crown can wear the tooth biting against it.
• Debonding: uncommon, and usually re-cemented straightforwardly.

Ask for your treatment plan, X-rays and material certificates before you fly home. Valentmedica provides them as standard, and they matter if a dentist at home ever needs to work on these teeth.

Sequence is everything. Infection is treated before a crown goes on; whitening happens before shade is chosen; gum contouring is done before impressions so the laboratory works to the final gum line.

Commonly combined with

• Root canal treatment: for teeth with an infected or dying nerve, done before the crown.
• Post and core: where too little tooth remains above the gum to retain a crown.
• Whitening: on the remaining natural teeth, before shade is selected, since ceramic cannot be lightened afterwards.
• E-max veneers or crowns on the front teeth, with zirconia at the back — the most common mixed plan.
• Dental implants: zirconia is the standard crown material on an implant abutment.
• Gum contouring: where the gum line needs reshaping before impressions.

If you are considering crowning most of your visible teeth, read our Hollywood smile page, which covers the same work planned as a single aesthetic unit rather than tooth by tooth.

• Panoramic X-ray: send one before paying a deposit. Infection under a root only shows here, and it changes the plan.
• Existing work: tell your dentist about old root canals, posts, crowns and any tooth that has ever been painful.
• Whitening first: if you plan to whiten, do it before the crowns are made. Ceramic cannot be lightened later.
• Shade: look at real patient photographs rather than renders, and choose in daylight with your dentist.
• Medication: mention blood thinners, which matter if an extraction or gum surgery is needed.
• Packing list: soft foods for the temporary phase, a soft toothbrush and your regular medication.

Zirconia does not stain, does not corrode and does not develop the dark margin that gives older metal-ceramic crowns away as gums recede. In laboratory testing it withstands forces well beyond normal chewing. The realistic failure modes are decay at the margin, gum recession exposing the join, and fracture of the tooth underneath — all of which are about maintenance rather than material.

Treat crowned teeth like natural ones with slightly more attention: brush twice daily, clean between the teeth around every margin, and see a hygienist twice a year. If you grind, wear the night guard — zirconia is hard, but the tooth under it is not, and the opposing teeth certainly are not. You can see cases at different stages in our dental before and after gallery.