Short answer
A metal-ceramic coping is the metal substructure of a porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) implant crown. In the systematic review behind the 2018 ITI consensus, PFM implant crowns reached 98.3% survival at five years versus 97.6% for zirconia, with fewer material fractures but more esthetic complications.
What it is
The coping is the metal substructure of a PFM implant crown: the part that seats on the implant, or on the abutment, and carries the veneering porcelain. It is the option with the most clinical data behind it. In the review that informed the 2018 ITI consensus, there were 4,363 metal-ceramic implant crowns against 912 zirconia ones.
The crown can be screw-retained or cemented on an abutment. That call is yours and it changes the coping design, so it needs to be on the prescription. Whether the order includes the veneering porcelain or the coping only, and which alloy is used, we’ll confirm with you when the case is opened.
When to prescribe it
The most-cited comparison is the systematic review by Pjetursson and colleagues that fed into the 2018 ITI consensus. PFM implant crowns reached 98.3% survival at five years, zirconia 97.6%. Porcelain chipping was about the same in both groups, but zirconia, nearly always veneered in those studies, had more material fractures: 2.1% vs 0.2%.
Zirconia had fewer esthetic complications. In the anterior, that is the trade-off to weigh; in the posterior, where the metal shows less, it matters less. If chipping is your main worry, compare it with a monolithic zirconia implant crown, which has no veneering layer.
How we make it
Smile Digital Lab designs the coping on your scan and makes the framework and the veneering ceramic in-house in São Paulo, Brazil. Every stage of your case is validated and logged, the restoration goes through eight checks before it ships, and the portal shows you which phase it’s in.
What to send
The basics are in our case submission guide. As with any implant crown, two common causes of remakes are a poorly captured scan body and the wrong platform on the prescription. Our piece on why implant crowns get remade covers how to avoid them. To settle retention before you send, see our piece on screw- vs cement-retained implant crowns.
Frequently asked questions
PFM or zirconia on an implant?
For single crowns, the 2018 ITI consensus found clinical performance similar, with different complications. In the underlying review, porcelain chipping was the same (2.9% and 2.8% at five years), but zirconia had more material fractures (2.1% vs 0.2%) and fewer esthetic problems.
Do those numbers apply to monolithic zirconia?
Not directly. The 2018 review found no monolithic zirconia implant crown studies with three years of follow-up; its zirconia data are for veneered crowns. For monolithic zirconia, see our zirconia implant crown page.
Do I need to send the components?
Put the implant brand and platform on the prescription and say whether the crown is screw- or cement-retained. For analog impressions, send the impression coping or the analog. At check-in we confirm the component is in stock before the case goes into production.
Sources
- A systematic review of the survival and complication rates of zirconia-ceramic and metal-ceramic single crowns · Clinical Oral Implants Research (2018)
- Group 2 ITI Consensus Report — prosthodontics and implant dentistry · Clinical Oral Implants Research (2018)