How Much Do Dental Crowns Cost UK? Each Type Broken Down
- Had a check-up and been told you need a dental crown?
- Have a cracked or damaged tooth?
- Tooth chipping away because of decay?
- Cavity too large for a dental filling?
- Recently had a root canal and now it’s time for a crown?
- Wondering how much does a crown cost UK?
Mint Dental Clinic in London offers dental crowns from as low as £23.13 per month.
Need a dental crown and wondering about costs?
Call us on 020 7928 4474 to speak with our team at Mint Dental Clinic in Elephant & Castle, London.
We’ll explain your options, walk you through the pricing, and help you find the right crown for your needs — no pressure, just expert advice.
UK average costs
In the UK, you can spend anywhere from £400 to £1,200 on a dental crown, with prices varying depending on the type, the practice, and where you are.
If you’ve seen prices online between £300 and £800, you’re likely seeing costs for a metal crown instead of a porcelain one.
White crowns are more expensive because they’re visually more appealing, and metal crowns are often the cheapest.
Cost might vary
The price of dental crowns in the UK varies because practices around the country use different equipment and technology, and therefore offer various types of crowns.
For example, here at Mint Dental Clinic, we utilise CAD/CAM technology to offer our patients same-day white crowns, eliminating the need for multiple visits for a single treatment.
Our dental crown fees
Explore: Emax Crown, Zirconia, Porcelain Crowns
What’s included in your treatment?
The cost of your dental crown covers:
- Impressions, moulds and scans
- The fake tooth
- Your appointment to place the crown
- Colour matching
- If you’re having a root canal, the crown is charged separately
Please note that if you’re replacing a tooth, for example, with a dental bridge or a crown, the cost of the crown is included in the overall treatment cost.
For example, our dental implant prices include the crown.
NHS Fees
On the NHS, you can only get a dental crown if there is a medical need for a tooth restoration.
Dental crowns, on the NHS, are also not provided for patients under 17 unless there is a clinical reason to do so.
Dental crowns are a Band 3 treatment, which costs around £319.10 via the NHS. Mint Dental is a private practice.
Paying monthly for dental crowns using finance
When seeking treatment to repair weakened or cracked teeth, especially if the patient needs to restore multiple teeth simultaneously, the final treatment price can seem daunting, which might mean patients delay their treatment.
Dental crowns are always required for clinical reasons (we don’t use them for aesthetic purposes, like making teeth more even; we use veneers and bonding).
This means that a dental crown is required to protect the underlying tooth from bacteria, decay, and infection and to preserve the remaining structure.
To help patients make their treatment more affordable, we offer dental financing over 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months, with the first 12 months interest-free.
Dental crown finance price
A finance example based on one dental crown costing £995:
- 12 months (0%): £82.91 pm (no cost of credit)
- 24 months (14.9%): £47.75 pm (total interest £151.00)
- 36 months (14.9%): £33.99 pm (total interest £228.64)
- 48 months (14.9%): £27.17pm (total interest £309.16)
- 60 months (14.9%): £ 23.13 pm (total interest £392.80)
Considering a dental crown? Call 020 7928 4474 today for clear advice on costs and treatment options. We’re here to help you make the right choice for your smile.
Crown Cost by Material, and What You Get for the Difference
The material is the biggest single factor in the price, and the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is roughly threefold. Here is what separates them, using indicative UK market ranges rather than our own fees.
Metal and gold crowns
Around £250 to £800. The oldest option and still the most durable. Gold alloy flexes slightly like natural enamel, which means it rarely chips and is kind to the tooth biting against it. It also needs less tooth removed than any other type.
The obvious problem is that it looks like metal. In practice this only suits molars right at the back where nothing shows.
Porcelain fused to metal
Around £350 to £900. A metal substructure with porcelain baked over it. For years this was the default compromise: strong enough for back teeth, acceptable-looking at the front.
Its weakness is the join. Over time gums recede slightly and a dark metal line appears at the edge, which is why front teeth are now usually done differently.
All-porcelain and E-max
Around £400 to £1,200. No metal at all, so light passes through the way it does through enamel. This is what makes a front crown look convincing rather than flat.
E-max is a specific lithium disilicate ceramic and is the usual choice for visible teeth. Our E-max crowns page covers where it works best.
Zirconia
Around £500 to £1,500. The strongest tooth-coloured option, and the one that has largely taken over from porcelain fused to metal. It handles heavy chewing forces without the dark line.
Full-strength zirconia is slightly more opaque, so it is often used at the back, with layered zirconia or E-max at the front. See zirconia crowns for the detail, and porcelain crowns for the traditional option.
Cost Per Year Is the More Useful Number
Comparing crowns on price alone is misleading, because they do not last the same length of time. Reported typical lifespans:
- Gold or metal: 20 years and often considerably longer
- Zirconia: 15 to 20 years
- E-max and all-porcelain: 10 to 15 years
- Porcelain fused to metal: 10 to 15 years
Run the arithmetic and the ranking changes. A £500 crown replaced at ten years costs more across two decades than an £900 crown that lasts the whole period, and you have paid for a second appointment, a second temporary, and a second round of tooth preparation. Each replacement removes a little more tooth structure, and there is a finite amount of that.
This is the honest argument against choosing on headline price. It is not that cheap crowns are badly made. It is that the cheapest crown is rarely the cheapest decade.
What Can Be Added to the Quoted Price
A crown fee covers the crown. These are the items that sometimes sit alongside it, and any of them can move your total.
A core build-up, roughly £80 to £200. If the tooth is substantially broken down, it has to be rebuilt into a shape a crown can grip before the crown is made. Common on teeth that have had large fillings for years.
A post and core, roughly £100 to £300. Where a root-treated tooth has very little left above the gum, a post anchors into the root canal to support the build-up.
Root canal treatment first, where the nerve is involved. This is the largest possible addition and it is a separate treatment, not part of the crown. Our root canal treatment page covers when it is needed.
A temporary crown, roughly £50 to £150, worn while the laboratory makes the permanent one. Often included, occasionally not.
The examination and any X-rays needed to plan the work.
None of this is unusual and none of it is a hidden charge when it appears on a written plan. The point is to compare quotes on the same basis. A practice that quotes for the crown alone will look cheaper than one that quotes for everything the tooth actually needs.
Why London Costs More
Crown fees in central London run well above the national average, and the reasons are unglamorous: premises, laboratory costs and clinical time.
The laboratory is worth understanding, because it is where quality differences hide. A crown is made by a technician, not by a machine on its own, and a good technician matching the shade and translucency of your neighbouring teeth is a skilled job that takes time. UK laboratories cost more than overseas ones. Practices quoting unusually low fees are often using the cheapest lab available, and shade matching is where that shows first.
Same-day CAD/CAM crowns, which we make in the practice, avoid the lab wait and the temporary crown entirely.
Replacing an Existing Crown
A recrown costs about the same as the original, sometimes slightly more if the old one is difficult to remove or the tooth underneath has decayed.
Signs one needs replacing: a dark line at the gum, sensitivity or pain underneath, a visible gap at the margin, looseness, or a chip. Decay under a crown is the common reason and it is often painless, because a root-treated tooth has no nerve to complain with. It is found on X-ray at a check-up, which is the practical argument for keeping them up.
If a crown comes off, keep it and bring it in. It can often be recemented for far less than a replacement, provided the tooth underneath is sound. Do not superglue it, which contaminates the fit surface and turns a recementation into a remake.
Is a Crown the Right Treatment At All?
Worth asking, because a crown is not always the answer.
A large filling may be enough where the tooth is mostly intact. Cheaper, and less tooth removed.
An onlay covers the biting surface without a full crown, so it preserves more tooth. A good option for a cracked cusp.
A veneer covers the front face only, and suits appearance problems on front teeth that are otherwise sound.
Extraction and replacement is the route where the tooth is too broken down to restore. That means a bridge, a denture, or an implant, all of which cost more than a crown.
A crown is the right choice when there is not enough sound tooth to hold a filling reliably, after root canal treatment on a back tooth, or where a tooth is cracked and needs holding together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a dental crown cost in the UK?
Indicative market ranges run from around £250 for metal to £1,500 for zirconia, with all-porcelain and E-max between. Our crowns are £995. What moves the figure is material, which tooth, and whether the tooth needs building up first.
Which crown material is cheapest?
Metal and gold, but they are only suitable for back teeth where appearance does not matter. Among tooth-coloured options, porcelain fused to metal is usually the least expensive.
Which crown lasts longest?
Gold, at 20 years or more, followed by zirconia at 15 to 20. All-porcelain and E-max typically last 10 to 15 years and look considerably better on front teeth.
How much does it cost to replace a crown?
Roughly the same as the original crown, occasionally more if the tooth underneath has decayed and needs rebuilding first.
Why is my crown quote higher than the advertised price?
Usually a core build-up, a post, or root canal treatment the tooth needed before it could be crowned. Ask for the total in writing so you are comparing like with like.
Does a crown hurt?
No. The tooth is numbed for preparation and you feel pressure rather than pain. Mild sensitivity for a few days afterwards is normal, particularly to cold.
How many appointments does a crown take?
Traditionally two, a fortnight or so apart, with a temporary crown between. Our same-day CAD/CAM crowns are designed, milled and fitted in one visit.
Can a crowned tooth still decay?
Yes, at the margin where the crown meets the tooth. The crown itself cannot decay but the tooth underneath can, which is why crowned teeth still need cleaning and check-ups.
Are cheap crowns abroad worth it?
The headline price is lower. What is often missing is follow-up if the fit or shade is wrong, and remaking a poorly fitting crown at home costs more than having it done properly once.
Material price ranges and lifespans are indicative UK market figures from published 2026 cost guides, not our fees. Our own fees are set out above and confirmed in writing before treatment. Last reviewed August 2026.
