Dental Crowns in Box Hill

Every restoration fails eventually. The question is what’s left when it does.

You’ve been told you need a crown – or maybe nobody’s told you anything yet and there’s just a tooth that zings when you bite down, a sharp jolt when you release, cold setting it off, coming and going enough that you’ve been ignoring it.

Either way, the question is the same: does the whole tooth need to be cut down, or just part of it? A full crown means shaving the tooth on every surface. An onlay protects only the parts that need it and leaves the rest of your tooth alone. We check whether an onlay would do the job before considering a full crown, and we can often make it in-house the same day, at a lower cost than a lab-made ceramic.

“Every restoration has a failure point. My job is to make sure that when it comes, there’s still a tooth left to work with.”

Dr NaMoo Park, principal dentist

Why We Prefer Onlays

This is the part most guests never hear, and it’s the whole reason we work the way we do. No restoration lasts forever – not a filling, not an onlay, not a crown. One day it will need replacing. That isn’t pessimism, it’s just how dentistry works.

So the question isn’t only what protects the tooth now, it’s what you’ll have to work with when this eventually fails. If a crown fails, the tooth beneath has been cut down on all sides, and there may be very little left to rebuild on; sometimes the honest answer at that point is extraction, an implant or a bridge, and several thousand dollars. If an onlay fails, more of your natural tooth is still there, and there’s usually enough structure left to restore it again.

Preserving tooth structure today is what buys you options tomorrow. There’s also a cost that isn’t on the invoice: the redo. Every restoration gets replaced eventually, so this isn’t a one-time purchase – it’s the first of several over your lifetime, and the more conservative we are now, the fewer of those cycles you’re signing up for.

Not sure whether a crown is the right option for you? We’re happy to give you an honest assessment – and if a crown genuinely is the answer, we’ll say so.

A Crack Doesn’t Stay Still

We’ve spent this page telling you not to be rushed, so here’s the exception, and it’s the only one. A crack in a tooth does not heal, it travels.

While the crack is contained above the gum, it’s fixable, an onlay holds the tooth together and you keep it. If it reaches below the gum line, the tooth is often no longer restorable by anyone, and the honest answer becomes extraction, then an implant, a bridge, or a gap. A $725 onlay and a $5,700 implant can be separated by a crack travelling a few millimetres.

Nobody can tell you how fast yours is moving; it only ever moves in one direction, and the pain coming and going doesn’t mean it’s healing, cracked teeth are notorious for that. This isn’t a reason to panic, it’s a reason not to leave it for another year. If your tooth hurts when you bite, or gives a sharp jolt when you release the bite, get it looked at while it’s still a $725 problem.

Why Did It Crack in the First Place?

Teeth don’t usually crack for no reason. The most common cause is clenching and grinding, often at night, often without you knowing you’re doing it. If that’s what broke this tooth, fixing the tooth without addressing the grinding usually means we’ll be doing this again with the next one, and restorations placed in a mouth that grinds tend to fail earlier.

So we look at the whole picture: whether other teeth are showing wear or chipping, whether there’s jaw tension or morning headaches, and whether something’s going on with your breathing at night, since grinding and disrupted sleep breathing frequently travel together (see our Sleep Apnea & Snoring page). If grinding is part of your picture, a night guard may protect both the new restoration and the teeth you haven’t broken yet; our Teeth Grinding page covers this in more detail.

What’s the Actual Difference?

A full crown covers the entire tooth. To fit it, enamel is removed from every surface, and the tooth becomes a small peg that the crown sits over. An onlay or overlay covers only the parts that need protecting typically the biting surface and the weakened cusps while leaving healthy walls of your own tooth intact. Both are custom-made and bonded on; the difference is how much of your tooth survives the process.

Whichever material you choose, the onlay removes only what’s needed and is usually restorable again if it fails one day. A full crown removes enamel from every surface, and if it fails, there may not be enough tooth left to restore. Both protect a cracked tooth equally well.

A Rough Guide to Narrowing It Down

Two treatments, two materials, four prices. Here’s a shortcut, not a diagnosis – just a way of working out roughly which conversation you’re likely to be having.

• Is there still a decent amount of healthy tooth around the damage? If yes, an onlay is likely on the table. If it’s mostly gone, a crown may be the honest answer.
• Is the tooth cracked right through, or is it a weakened cusp or a big old filling? A crack through may need full coverage; a weakened or heavily filled tooth is usually fine with an onlay.
• Do you grind your teeth, or take heavy load on that tooth? If so, we may recommend ceramic over 3D-printed. If not, a same-day 3D-printed onlay at $725–$1,000 may be a good choice.
• Do you need it finished today, or are you happy to wait two weeks for ceramic if your tooth calls for it?
• Is cost the binding constraint? Say so. The range runs from $725 to $2,100, and there’s almost always more than one clinically sound answer.

None of this replaces an examination, but it should tell you roughly where you sit before you walk in.

If This Is After Root Canal Treatment

Let’s be direct about the money upfront, because this catches a lot of people out: the crown is charged separately from the root canal treatment – it’s not included. We’ll tell you the full cost, root canal and restoration, before you start.

A root-treated back tooth usually needs protecting, but it doesn’t automatically need a full ceramic crown. If a same-day 3D-printed onlay will do the job, that’s $725–$1,000 rather than $2,100, and considerably more of your tooth survives. See our Root Canal Treatment page for more on when a tooth is worth saving in the first place.

What It Costs

Consultation: $100. If anything further is needed, we explain what, why and how much, and get your agreement before we proceed. We can check your cover on HICAPS at the consultation, so you have a clearer idea of any out-of-pocket cost before you commit – it depends on your policy.

That’s the same tooth, protected two very different ways – and the difference is nearly three times the price, plus a great deal more of your own tooth left standing. Which one is right depends on your tooth, not your budget, but you should know the range exists.

Payment plans are available (terms and conditions apply – see our Payment Plans page). We’d rather do the right treatment on a payment plan than the compromised one in cash; if money is the obstacle, say so – it’s a conversation, not an embarrassment.

Same-Day Restorations, at Half the Ceramic Price

We now make 3D-printed hybrid restorations in-house – designed, produced and fitted in a single appointment. No temporary, no second visit, no two weeks eating carefully on a piece of plastic. You come in, the tooth is prepared, and you leave with the finished restoration bonded in place: an onlay from $725, a full crown at $1,050 – roughly half the ceramic fee.

These materials are newer than ceramics. They perform well, and for a great many teeth they’re a good choice – but ceramic has decades of track record behind it and 3D-printed hybrids don’t yet, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. For most teeth, a same-day hybrid restoration at a lower cost is a sensible option. For a heavily loaded molar in someone who grinds hard, we may still recommend ceramic, and we’ll explain exactly why. What we won’t do is sell you the newest thing simply because we own the machine.

How It Works

Either way, the bite check is not rushed. A restoration that sits a fraction high is one you’ll feel every day for years.

If Dental Work Makes You Anxious

You’re in a good place for that. Much of our work is with guests who feel nervous about dental treatment – people who’ve delayed care for years, or who had a bad experience once and never quite recovered from it.

Crown and onlay appointments are numbed thoroughly before anything begins. The aim is that you feel pressure and vibration, not sharp pain – and if you do feel sharp pain, we stop. That isn’t a formality, it’s how the appointment runs. Tell us when you book and we’ll plan the appointment around it. See our Dental Anxiety and Sleep Dentistry pages for more.

Meet Dr NaMoo Park Crown and onlay treatment at Facial Harmony is led by Dr NaMoo Park, co-owner and principal dentist, registered with the Dental Board of Australia. Facial Harmony is a certified member clinic of the Slow Dentistry Global Network. He considers the tooth, the bite and the teeth around it together and what happens years from now, not just what looks finished today.

What Happens at Your Consultation

Your $100 consultation is a focused look at the tooth in question. We examine the tooth, the crack or filling and what’s actually left of it, and assess your bite, since that’s often what broke it in the first place. We’ll tell you honestly whether an onlay would do the job or whether a crown is genuinely needed, and we can check your cover on HICAPS at the consultation so you have a clearer idea of any out-of-pocket cost – it depends on your policy. You’ll leave with a clear plan and a clear estimate, and you’re not committing to treatment by coming in.

What This Approach Means for You

More About Crowns & Onlays

Frequently Asked Questions