Monolithic vs layered zirconia: full-contour and layered crowns compared

Both are all-ceramic crowns, with no metal. In the NZDA Fee Survey (late 2023, including GST), an all-ceramic crown had a median fee of $1,600, with the middle half of dentists charging $1,500 to $1,780. Layered crowns take more technician time, so some clinics charge more for them.

What is a full-contour or layered crown?

A full contour crown, also called a monolithic crown, is made from a single material in its final tooth shape. It is designed in CAD software, milled, then stained and glazed or polished. Full contour zirconia is the most common, but monolithic E.max crowns are also widely used.

A layered crown has a strong core, called a coping or substructure, with porcelain built up over it by hand. A layered zirconia crown uses a zirconia core; a layered porcelain crown can also be built on E.max, or on metal, which makes it a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown.

Multilayer zirconia is a newer kind of monolithic zirconia. The blank has a built-in gradient from a darker neck to a lighter, more translucent edge, so a full-contour crown looks more natural without any porcelain layer. Higher-translucency zirconia looks better but is less strong than classic zirconia, so the lab chooses the grade to suit the tooth.

All ceramic crown and full ceramic crown mean the same thing: a crown with no metal, made in zirconia, E.max or porcelain. See how the types of zirconia crown compare in zirconia crown lifespan, types, pros and cons and cost.

How to set up a monolithic or layered crown: the lab steps

Your dentist prepares the tooth, takes a scan or impression and fits a temporary, just as for any crown. What happens in the lab depends on the type:

1. Design. For a monolithic crown, the technician designs the full tooth shape in CAD software. For a layered crown, the core is designed as a slightly smaller version of the finished tooth, so the porcelain on top has an even thickness.
2. Milling and sintering. The crown or core is milled from a zirconia blank and sintered in a furnace, where it shrinks to size and becomes hard.
3. Finishing a monolithic crown. It is stained and glazed, or polished to a high shine, often in one or two firings.
4. Layering. For a layered crown, the technician builds up porcelain in thin layers of dentine and enamel shades, firing it several times and shaping it by hand.
5. Fitting. Your dentist checks the fit, contacts and bite, then cements the crown.

A middle option is a cut-back crown: a monolithic crown with a thin window of porcelain added only on the visible face, which keeps the biting surface solid zirconia. Dentists can see how we make full-contour and layered restorations.

How to use and care for a monolithic or layered crown

• Eat normally once the crown is fitted, but avoid biting very hard objects, especially with a layered crown.
• Brush and floss every day around the edge of the crown, where the tooth can still decay.
• If your dentist adjusts the bite on a monolithic zirconia crown, it should be polished smooth again so it does not wear the opposing teeth.
• Wear a bite splint at night if you grind; grinding is the main cause of chipped porcelain.

Tips & gotchas

• Monolithic vs layered zirconia for back teeth: choose monolithic. Molars take the heaviest bite, and a solid crown has no porcelain to chip.
• For a single front crown next to natural teeth, layered zirconia or layered E.max usually matches best, because porcelain can copy the depth and translucency of the teeth beside it.
• Unsupported porcelain chips. In a 5-year retrospective study of 1,143 zirconia restorations, monolithic crowns had no failures, while layered failures were mostly chipping where unsupported porcelain was thicker than 1.5 mm. The core must support the porcelain evenly.
• Grinders and implant crowns usually do better with monolithic zirconia, sometimes with a cut-back on the visible face.
• Send good shade photos. For any front-tooth crown, photos with a shade tab next to the tooth help the lab match colour and character.

Monolithic E.max is also a full-contour option for front teeth and veneers; see how much veneers cost in NZ, or compare all the crown materials in zirconia vs porcelain vs E.max vs gold crowns.