By Dr. Gregg Barry | 23 July 2026
If a tooth needs a crown, one of the first things people want to know — quite rightly — is what it’s going to cost. And “same-day” crowns add a second question on top of that: does getting the whole thing done in one visit cost more, or less? Here’s the honest answer for Dublin. We’ll give you the real number, tell you exactly what’s included, and be straight about when a same-day crown is the right call and when we’d actually steer you somewhere else. No pressure, no hard sell — just a clear breakdown.
How much does a same-day crown cost in Dublin?
A same-day CEREC crown costs €1,050 at Docklands Dental in Dublin — a single ceramic crown that’s scanned, designed, milled and fitted in one appointment, with no temporary crown and no second visit.
That’s the flat price for our indirect ceramic restorations, whether it’s a crown, an inlay or an onlay. It’s the same figure you’ll find on our price list — we don’t like surprises any more than you do. The “same-day” part is what makes CEREC different from a traditional crown: instead of taking a putty impression, sending it to a lab, and fitting a temporary while you wait a couple of weeks, we design and mill your crown in the practice and bond it the same afternoon.
We really do love this technology, and not just for the convenience — though walking out with a permanent tooth in a single visit is a genuinely lovely thing to be able to offer.
What’s included in the price of a same-day crown?
The €1,050 for a same-day crown in Dublin covers everything — the 3D digital scan, the design, the milled ceramic crown itself, and bonding it in place the same day — so there’s no separate lab fee or temporary-crown charge waiting for you at the end.
This matters more than it sounds. When you see a low “crown from…” headline price advertised, it’s always worth asking what it actually includes. Some quotes leave out the core build-up, the impression, or the fitting appointment, and the number quietly climbs from there. With us, €1,050 is the price of the finished, fitted crown. The only thing that would ever sit outside that is separate treatment the tooth needs first — say a root canal, or a build-up if there’s very little tooth left — and we’d tell you about that up front, in writing, before we started.
Why does a same-day crown sometimes cost less than a traditional lab crown?
A same-day CEREC crown at €1,050 usually costs slightly less than a hand-layered laboratory crown, which is €1,200 in Dublin, because there’s no dental-lab bill and no temporary stage — the ceramic block is milled in-house in around 15 minutes.
People often assume the fancy in-house technology must make it dearer. It’s the opposite. A traditional crown carries the cost of a skilled dental technician hand-building it in a lab, plus the courier trips and the temporary crown you wear in between. Take the lab out of the middle and that cost comes down a little. So you’re getting a strong, precise, computer-milled ceramic crown for a bit less than the lab route — and in a fraction of the time.
Here’s the honest nuance, though: cheaper isn’t the point, and it isn’t always the right choice either — which brings us to the next question.
When is a same-day crown the right call — and when isn’t it?
A same-day crown is the right call for most back teeth in Dublin, but for front teeth we generally recommend a €1,200 hand-layered feldspathic crown instead, because it can look that bit more lifelike.
Back teeth do the heavy lifting when you chew, and a milled ceramic crown is brilliant there — strong, sealed, precise, done in one go. For front teeth, though, we generally use hand-layered feldspathic: the front of your smile catches the light in a way molars never do, and a tooth sitting next to natural teeth asks for the extra artistry of a crown built up by hand, layer by layer, to mimic the subtle translucency of enamel. That’s a judgement call we make together at the chair — never a default upsell. If a same-day crown will look every bit as good (and often it will), that’s what we’ll do. If your specific tooth would be better served by the lab-made option, we’ll say so.
Not sure whether a crown is even the right restoration for you? Our guide on dental crown vs veneer walks through when each one makes sense.
How long does a same-day crown last — is it worth the cost?
A well-made ceramic crown lasts well over a decade — a large study of 3,404 crowns found annual failure rates under 1%, and all-ceramic crowns showed roughly 95% success at up to 15 years — so €1,050 buys a genuinely long-term result.
The research backs this up. A practice-based longevity study published in the Journal of Dentistry (Abt and colleagues, 2018) tracked more than 3,400 single-unit crowns and found annual failure rates of less than 1% — meaning the vast majority were still going strong after a decade. A separate multi-centre study on all-ceramic crowns reported around 95% success at up to 15 years. In our own experience that rings true: look after a crown like you’d look after a natural tooth — brush, floss, don’t use it as a bottle opener — and it should give you many, many years of service.
Spread the €1,050 across even ten years and it starts to look like very sensible money for something that protects a tooth all the way around. There’s a bit more on keeping yours in good shape in our crown aftercare guide.
Are you overpaying if a same-day crown costs more than a filling?
A same-day crown in Dublin costs more than a large filling because it caps and protects a weakened tooth all the way around — and at €1,050 for a restoration that can last 15 years, it often works out cheaper per year than repeatedly patching a failing filling.
Look, we know €1,050 is real money, and a filling is a lot less. But they’re not doing the same job. Once a tooth has lost enough structure — a big old filling that keeps breaking, a crack, a root-treated tooth — a filling is asking the remaining walls to hold together under years of chewing, and eventually they don’t. A crown wraps the whole tooth and takes that strain off. If you find yourself replacing the same failing filling every few years, the crown is very often the cheaper answer over time, not the dearer one. That’s the honest maths, and we’d rather you had it than a hard sell.
Does dental insurance cover a same-day crown in Dublin?
Most Irish dental insurance policies contribute towards the cost of a crown, typically covering a portion of the €1,050 once you’ve been on the plan long enough — so it’s always worth checking your specific policy before treatment.
Cover varies a fair bit between providers and plans, and there’s often a waiting period on major treatment like crowns, so we can’t promise what yours will pay. What we can promise is a clear, written quote before anything happens, so you know exactly where you stand and can check it against your policy. We don’t do discounts or limited-time offers — that’s just not how we work — but we’ll always be completely straight with you about the cost. If you want to see how a crown sits alongside everything else we do, our full cost of cosmetic dentistry in Dublin guide lays it all out.
Do I need a consultation before a same-day crown?
Yes — a short check-up comes first, because not every tooth suits a same-day crown, and we’d never quote you €1,050 without first seeing whether CEREC is genuinely the best option for your tooth.
The good news is that once we’ve confirmed a same-day crown is right for you, the treatment itself really is a single visit — scan, design, mill, fit, done. If you’d like to read exactly how that appointment unfolds, we’ve written it all up in our companion guide to same-day CEREC crowns in Dublin. And if you’d rather just come in and talk it through, that’s very welcome too. You can also see the full range of crown options on our crowns, inlays and onlays page.
Ready to talk it through?
If you’ve got a tooth that needs crowning and you’d like to know whether a same-day crown is right for you — and exactly what it’ll cost — we’d love to see you. No pressure, no hard sell, just a proper conversation about your tooth and your options.
Docklands Dental
1 Forbes Street, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, D02 FN53
Phone: 01 636 0192
Email: hello@docklandsdental.ie
Web: docklandsdental.ie
Written by Dr. Gregg Barry and the team at Docklands Dental
Need a crown? You can book a cosmetic consultation online — thirty minutes with one of our dentists to look at your teeth and talk through the options and what they would cost (€80, as listed on our price list).
Frequently asked questions
Is a same-day CEREC crown as good as a lab-made crown?
For back teeth, yes — a milled ceramic CEREC crown is strong, precise and long-lasting. For front teeth we generally recommend a hand-layered feldspathic crown (€1,200) instead, because building it up by hand can look that bit more lifelike next to natural teeth. It’s a judgement we make together, never a default upsell.
How long does a same-day crown last?
A well-made ceramic crown commonly lasts well over ten years. A large study of 3,404 crowns found annual failure rates under 1%, and all-ceramic crowns have shown around 95% success at up to 15 years. Looking after it like a natural tooth — good brushing and flossing, and not using it to crack anything hard — makes all the difference.
