How Much Does a Dental Crown Cost in the UK?

By the team at Bollington Dental Practice, under the clinical direction of Dr Ellie Burrows, Principal Dentist. Updated August 2026.

A crown is one of those treatments where the quotes seem to bear no relation to one another. If one practice has said £350 and another £900 for what sounds like the same tooth, here is what actually sits behind those numbers.

The short answer

A private dental crown in the UK typically costs £400 to £1,000, depending on the material and the laboratory that makes it. At Bollington Dental Practice a crown is £600 for precious bonded, or £620 for zirconia or Emax, and you will have the exact figure in writing before any work begins. On the NHS a crown falls into Band 3, currently £332.10 in England.

Need a crown? Crowns at Bollington Dental Practice start from £600, with the material and exact price agreed before any work starts. Our crowns and bridges page explains the options, and every price is on the fees page.

Why prices vary so much

• The material. A precious bonded crown has a metal core under the porcelain, which makes it very strong and well suited to back teeth. Zirconia and Emax are all-ceramic, so they let light through in the way a natural tooth does and look better at the front. The all-ceramic options usually cost a little more.
• The laboratory. A crown is made by a technician, not by a machine alone, and skilled lab work costs more. Matching a single front crown to the tooth beside it is genuinely difficult and is where the money goes.
• Whether the tooth needs building up first. If there is not enough tooth left to hold a crown, it needs a foundation. A post and core starts from £99.75 with us and is often quoted separately, which is one reason two estimates can look so different.
• What came before it. A crown often follows root canal treatment, which starts from £305 here. Ask whether a quote covers both stages or only the crown itself.
• Front or back. Back teeth take the chewing load and are usually built for strength. Front teeth are an appearance job, sometimes needing a trial fit before the crown is finished.

What about the NHS?

Crowns sit in Band 3, currently £332.10 in England. That single charge covers the entire course of treatment, so if you need a filling at the same time you still pay once. It is meaningfully cheaper than private care.

The practical catch is access. Like most practices in this area we are not able to take on new NHS patients, and NHS availability across Macclesfield is very limited. There is also less choice of material on an NHS crown, particularly on back teeth, where the priority is function rather than appearance.

Comparing costs? See every price we publish side by side in our interactive cost checker, including what the dental plan saves on each treatment.

NHS, typical private and our price compared at a glance

NHS charges shown are the England band charges for 2026. We are not able to take on new NHS adult patients at present, and our own prices are confirmed in a written plan before any treatment begins. Every fee is listed on our fees page and in our treatment cost checker.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a crown last?

Ten to fifteen years is a reasonable expectation, and plenty last considerably longer. What shortens that is rarely the crown itself; it is decay or gum disease at the margin where the crown meets the tooth. Keeping up with check-ups and hygiene visits does more for the lifespan of a crown than the material it is made from.

Zirconia, Emax or precious bonded: which should I choose?

For a molar under heavy load, precious bonded or zirconia. For a front tooth where appearance matters most, Emax is usually the nicest looking. We will talk you through which suits your tooth rather than simply selling you the dearest option.

Why do I need a crown after a root canal?

A root-filled back tooth has been hollowed out and becomes brittle, so it is at real risk of splitting. A crown holds it together. If a tooth splits below the gum it usually cannot be saved, so the crown protects the money you have already spent on saving it.

Is it worth having a crown done abroad?

The headline prices are genuinely lower. What is harder to price is what happens if something goes wrong six months later, because remedial work often costs more than the original treatment would have here. If you are weighing it up, ask what aftercare is included and who fixes it if it fails.

If you have a cracked tooth, a broken filling or a crown that has come off, call us on 01625 574609. We keep time in the diary for urgent problems, and every price we charge is published openly on our fees page.

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