The Gold Standard of Full Metal Crowns: Why They Continue to Earn Their Place in Modern Dentistry7/6/2026  Every few years, dentistry welcomes a new restorative material that promises greater strength, improved aesthetics or enhanced longevity. Zirconia has transformed posterior restorations, lithium disilicate has redefined cosmetic dentistry, and digital workflows have changed the way laboratories manufacture crowns. Yet despite all these advances, one restoration continues to prove its worth decade after decade: the full metal crown.
At Bremadent Dental Laboratory in London, we still manufacture a significant number of full metal crowns every month. While all-ceramic restorations dominate many treatment plans, we continue to receive prescriptions from dentists who specifically request full metal crowns for posterior teeth because they know they remain one of the most predictable restorations available. They are not choosing them because they are old-fashioned. They are choosing them because they work. Interestingly, we have also noticed an increase in requests for highly polished anterior full metal crowns. Popular culture and the rise of permanent metallic smiles inspired by grills have made these restorations increasingly appealing to some patients. Unlike removable cosmetic grills, however, a full metal crown is a professionally manufactured, permanently cemented restoration that restores the tooth while creating the desired metallic appearance. Most patients are surprised to learn these crowns are often silver in colour rather than gold, with the final appearance created by polishing the alloy to a brilliant mirror finish. At Bremadent, we manufacture both full metal crowns and cast gold crowns, allowing clinicians to choose the material that best suits each patient's clinical and aesthetic requirements.
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 If there is one clinical record that can dramatically improve communication between a dental practice and dental laboratory whilst taking less than two minutes to record, it is the stick bite.
Yet despite its simplicity, it remains one of the most underused and misunderstood records in restorative dentistry. At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we receive thousands of denture, implant, crown and bridge, and full arch rehabilitation cases every year. One thing we have noticed consistently is that many clinicians provide excellent impressions, accurate scans, detailed prescriptions, and beautiful photographs, but omit one of the most valuable records available for guiding anterior aesthetics and occlusal plane orientation. The stick bite. Ironically, some of the most expensive and complex cases we receive arrive without one. When this happens, the laboratory must rely on photographs, facial landmarks, experience, and clinical judgement to determine how the final smile should sit within the patient's face. When a stick bite is included, many of those assumptions disappear. The result is often greater predictability, improved communication, reduced chairside adjustments, and more confident smile design. This article explains exactly what a stick bite is, why it matters, how to take one correctly, when it should be used, and why many experienced clinicians consider it an essential record for full arch and aesthetic cases.  For many dental practices, outsourcing laboratory work overseas can seem like an attractive proposition.
Lower prices. Competitive turnaround times. Access to large manufacturing facilities. On the surface, it can appear to be a straightforward way to reduce costs and improve profitability. As a dental laboratory, we understand the appeal. In fact, like many businesses, we purchase certain products and equipment from overseas manufacturers ourselves. We have experienced both the advantages and the challenges first-hand. The reality is that outsourcing dental laboratory work is far more complex than simply comparing prices on a spreadsheet. Over the years, we have seen practices move work overseas, bring it back, move it again, and then return once more to UK laboratories after experiencing issues that were never considered during the initial decision-making process. The question is not whether overseas laboratories can produce quality work. Many absolutely can. The real question is what happens when things do not go to plan. That is where the true cost of outsourcing often becomes visible.  If you asked most dentists, dental nurses, or practice managers what a dental laboratory does, the answer would probably be fairly straightforward.
"We send impressions, scans, and prescriptions. The laboratory makes the work. We fit it." Whilst that is technically correct, it only scratches the surface of what happens behind the scenes. From our experience at Bremadent Dental Laboratory, many dental professionals are surprised when they discover how a modern dental laboratory actually operates as a business and production environment. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions we encounter is that laboratories primarily work for one practice at a time, or that the workload arriving each day is predictable and controlled. The reality is very different. Understanding how a dental laboratory functions helps explain why communication, planning, realistic turnaround times, and strong partnerships are so important within dentistry.  When dentists choose a dental laboratory, they are placing a huge amount of trust in the people behind the scenes.
Every impression, scan, prescription, shade, and patient expectation arrives with one simple request: "Please get this right." At Bremadent Dental Laboratory, we take that responsibility seriously. In fact, many new technicians who join our team often tell us that our quality control procedures are far more detailed than anything they have experienced elsewhere. We usually smile when we hear that. The reason is simple. We have spent decades refining our systems to reduce errors, improve consistency, and deliver predictable outcomes for dentists and their patients. Since 1969, our laboratory has continuously evolved with changing materials, techniques, and digital technologies. While the equipment has changed dramatically over the years, our commitment to quality control has remained exactly the same. The result is a laboratory culture where quality is not something that happens at the end of production. It is built into every stage of the workflow. |
Private Dental Laboratory in London
 Kash Qureshi - Managing Director, Clinical Dental Technician
About the author:
Kash Qureshi is a Clinical Dental Technician (Denturist) in the U.K who oversees and quality controls over 3000+ fixed and removable prosthesis including implant cases from a clinical and technical aspect monthly at Bremadent Dental Laboratory & Swissedent Denture Clinic in London. www.swissedent.co.uk www.bremadent.co.uk [email protected] Categories
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