Why choose gold when we have ceramic?

Ceramic crowns look great because they match the colour of the teeth. If cosmetics are of high concern then zirconia crowns can perform very well on the front teeth. For the very back molar teeth however, gold can be a better performer in the long run. Being a metal, gold can be very thin and very strong, which means the dentist only needs to cut a limited amount of tooth back to fit the crown. Ceramics have problems with being generally more bulky and also they can wear the opposite teeth down from a grinding effect. Gold is much more gentle on the teeth.