FAQ
Are PFM crowns being phased out?
A straight answer first, then the context behind it, from the technicians who do the work.
THE SHORT ANSWER
PFM crowns are not phased out, but their market share has dropped significantly since 2015 as monolithic zirconia and lithium disilicate took over posterior and anterior cases respectively. PFMs remain clinically appropriate for long-span bridges and cases requiring metal occlusal contacts. Most labs still fabricate them. Volume, however, has declined roughly 40-50% across the industry over the past decade.
THE CONTEXT
What sits behind it
The shift away from PFM is driven by material science, not fashion. Monolithic zirconia delivers flexural strength above 1,000 MPa in high-translucency formulas, eliminates the porcelain-chip failure mode that frustrated dentists for decades, and mills faster than hand-layered PFM. For posterior single units and short-span bridges, a well-designed zirconia restoration outperforms PFM on longevity data going back to 2017 peer-reviewed studies. That is why ordering patterns changed.
PFM still earns its place in specific clinical situations. Long-span fixed partial dentures (four or more units) benefit from the metal substructure's rigidity. Patients with documented nickel or ceramic sensitivities sometimes require a carefully specified PFM alloy. Bruxers with extreme occlusal loads and limited vertical dimension occasionally land here too. The restoration is not obsolete; it is narrower in scope than it was in 2005.
For prosthodontists and restorative dentists making lab decisions, the practical question is not whether PFMs are dying but whether their current lab maintains the metallurgical and porcelain-layering skill to fabricate them correctly when the case calls for it. Dani Dental still produces PFMs with the same hand-layering workflow as full-contour ceramics, so the skill set did not atrophy when zirconia volumes grew. If you need a PFM for a specific case, the turnaround and quality standard hold.
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Are PFM crowns being phased out?
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