A clinical dental crown is the name given to the part of the natural tooth which protrudes from the gum. If some parts are destroyed by caries or a trauma, they can be replaced by fillings or by crowns. The following crowns are distinguished according to the applied materials:

Full crowns consist solely of metal. Silver coloured crowns can consist of a palladium alloy or titanium (non-precious metals). Gold coloured crowns consist of alloys with a greater or lesser proportion of gold.

Faced crowns consist of a thin metal structure, which is individually faced with plastic or ceramics in tooth colour.

Jacket crowns are tooth coloured and do not have a metal structure, that is, they are manufactured solely from polymers or ceramics.

Partial crowns get their name from the fact that they only replace a part of the tooth. Depending on their size they are also called half or three-quarter crowns. They can consist of metal, ceramics or plastic. The transition from inlay/onlay to partial crown is smooth.

Crowns are further distinguished according to construction specific characteristics (e.g., pin crowns, telescope crowns).