Guide · Dental crowns
How much does a dental crown cost in Edinburgh?
Short answer: at City Dental Care, private crowns are from £595 per tooth in zirconia, Emax or metal-ceramic, and gold crowns from £924 per tooth. On the NHS, the charge for one crown is £164.52 on the NHS Scotland fee scale from 1 November 2025, unless you are exempt. The longer answer explains what the private figure covers, how the materials differ, what the NHS charges, and what affects the cost of a crown over the years.
What the private “from” price covers
A private crown is from £595 per tooth: the starting fee for one crown, made for one tooth. The same figure covers inlays and onlays, the smaller made-to-measure repairs described below. It is the figure on our price list and on our page about dental crowns in Edinburgh, and it is the same in both places.
Why a starting figure rather than a fixed price? Because two teeth that both “need a crown” can need different things. One may have a sound core and need only shaping; another may have decay under an old filling, a crack, or a root canal that has not been done yet. The crown itself is priced per tooth; anything the tooth needs before it can take a crown is its own item.
So the price for your tooth comes after an examination. Your dentist looks at the tooth, takes any X-rays needed, explains whether it needs a crown, an onlay or just a filling, and gives you a written estimate before any private treatment starts. The private examination fees are on the same price list; NHS examinations are free for everyone in Scotland.
Crown materials, and which are NHS or private
Privately, we make crowns in four materials:
- Zirconia (a white ceramic with no metal base, colour-matched to your natural teeth).
- Emax, or lithium disilicate (a white glass-ceramic with no metal base, also colour-matched).
- Metal-ceramic, or porcelain bonded to metal (a metal base with a tooth-coloured porcelain layer on top).
- Gold (a gold alloy, gold-coloured rather than white, often chosen for back teeth that don’t show).
Zirconia, Emax and metal-ceramic crowns share one starting fee, from £595 per tooth; gold crowns are from £924 per tooth. Which material suits you depends on where the tooth is, how heavily you bite on it and how much it shows, and your dentist will recommend one at the examination.
On the NHS we provide metal crowns and metal-ceramic crowns. All-ceramic crowns, zirconia and Emax, are private. If you would like a crown that is white all the way through on a tooth we are treating on the NHS, that crown is private, and your dentist will tell you so, and what it costs, before anything is made. In Scotland you are entitled to mix NHS and private care in the same course of treatment.
What an NHS crown costs in Scotland
NHS charges are set by NHS Scotland, not by the practice. You pay 80% of the NHS fee for each item of treatment, and the total for a single course of treatment is capped at £384. On the fee scale in force from 1 November 2025, the charge for one crown, or one inlay, is £164.52. Anything else in the same course, such as a post or core to support the crown, is charged on top, up to the cap.
- Under-26s, pregnant women and new mothers, and people on some benefits pay nothing.
- NHS crowns are normally provided for patients aged 17 or over.
- NHS crowns here are metal or metal-ceramic; all-ceramic crowns are private.
- NHS crowns are for patients registered with the practice as NHS patients.
We always tell you before treatment whether it is NHS or private, and what it costs. Our guide to NHS and private dentistry in Scotland explains how the two work side by side.
Crown or onlay?
A crown covers the whole visible part of the tooth, so the tooth is shaped all the way round to make room for it. An onlay covers only the part that needs it, usually the biting surface and one or more of its corners, so more of your natural tooth is kept. An inlay is smaller again: a made-to-measure filling that sits inside the tooth.
Privately, crowns, inlays and onlays start from the same fee, from £595 per tooth, so the choice is a clinical one rather than a price one. Where enough sound tooth is left, an onlay is often the more conservative option; where too much is missing, a crown protects it better. Your dentist will say which suits the tooth, and why.
A crown on your own tooth, or a crown on an implant
A crown needs a tooth, or at least a healthy root, underneath it. If the tooth is still there, the crown fee above is what you are paying for. If the tooth is missing, or has to come out, a crown on its own can’t replace it.
One option for a missing tooth is an implant, and a crown on an implant is priced as part of the implant, not as a crown: a single implant is from £1,495, including its crown. Implant treatment always needs a 3D CBCT scan, and the CBCT scan and implant planning is £149, unless a suitable recent CBCT taken elsewhere can be used. Our page on dental implants in Edinburgh explains the treatment, and our guide to implants, bridges and dentures compares the ways of replacing a tooth.
How many appointments a crown takes
Usually two, with the crown made in a dental laboratory in between. We don’t offer same-day crowns.
- First appointment. The tooth is numbed, any decay or old filling is removed and the tooth is shaped. A scan or impression is taken, and a temporary crown protects the tooth while the final one is made.
- Second appointment. The temporary comes off, and the final crown is tried in, checked for fit, bite and appearance, and cemented.
How long crowns last, and the cost over the years
Crowns can last many years when they are well looked after, but nothing in dentistry is certain to last for life, and no one can promise a lifespan for a particular crown. How long yours lasts depends on the tooth underneath, your bite, habits such as grinding, and how well the edges of the crown are kept clean, because decay can still start where the crown meets the tooth.
That is why the first bill is only part of the cost. Things worth counting in:
- Treatment the tooth needs first. A back tooth that has had root canal treatment is more brittle, so a crown is often advised to protect it. If your tooth needs both, your written estimate shows them together.
- Protecting the crown. If you grind or clench your teeth, your dentist may suggest a night guard to protect the crown and the teeth around it.
- Check-ups and cleaning. Regular examinations can catch a problem at the edge of a crown while it is still small, which usually costs less than replacing the crown later.
- Replacing it one day. An old crown that has come loose, or has decay underneath it, may need replacing, and that is quoted at the time like any other crown.
Spreading the cost
0% finance is available on private treatment from £250 up to £5,000. We work with one credit broker, Treatment Finance, a trading name of Snowbird Finance Limited (FCA firm reference 661943), which is not a lender. If approved, the lender pays the practice directly, and you repay the lender by monthly Direct Debit over 6, 9, 10, 11 or 12 months. Plans over £5,000 can be part-financed.
The finance options for your treatment are confirmed alongside your written estimate, and our 0% finance page has the details. Practice Plan members get a 15% discount on private treatment (exclusions apply).
Want to know what your tooth needs?
Book an examination at 9 Earl Grey Street, in Edinburgh city centre. Your dentist will tell you whether the tooth needs a crown, an onlay or just a filling, and what it costs, before anything starts. We are open 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to 5pm on Fridays.
