Dental Crown Prices in China: Zirconia vs Porcelain vs E.max

At public hospitals where China's 2025 national dental pricing guideline is in force — such as Beijing and Shenzhen, and Shanghai from 20 November 2026 — a crown on a natural tooth is billed as two charges: a government-capped fitting fee per tooth and the crown itself, sold as a product. The fitting fee is the same whatever the crown is made of. In 2026 the caps are ¥4,000 per tooth in Beijing from 11 July^[1][2], ¥3,600 in Shanghai from 20 November^[3][4] and ¥3,080 at Shenzhen's top price tier from 30 June^[5][6]. Provinces still on older price lists charge differently^[39][36], and an implant crown is fitted under the implant service fee instead^[7]. The material changes the product line: zirconia crowns for single implants were listed nationally at ¥100–656 in 2023^[7], and one public hospital lists crowns for natural teeth from ¥70 (nickel-chromium porcelain-fused-to-metal) to ¥792 (its most expensive zirconia brand)^[8][9]. VIP departments and private clinics set their own prices; in the VIP examples below, these range from modestly to much higher.

This guide is about prices and materials. For the treatment itself — visits, days in China, aftercare — see crowns and veneers.

How a public hospital bills a crown

China's 2025 national dental pricing guideline merged the old step-by-step charges into one service item, the fixed-restoration fee (修复体固定修复费). It covers tooth preparation, impressions and models, bite records, shade matching, try-in, adjustment and cementation^[1], and the same item applies to crowns, inlays, posts and post-crowns^[10]. The crown itself is sold as a product at a "one price" that already includes the lab's or the hospital's production cost — the approach first used for implant crowns^[10]. Each province sets its own price levels under the guideline^[11]. The caps in three cities (sources: Beijing^[1][12], Shanghai^[4], Shenzhen^[6]):

Maximum price (per unit)	Beijing, from 11 Jul 2026	Shanghai, from 20 Nov 2026	Shenzhen top tier, from 30 Jun 2026
Fitting fee, per tooth position	¥4,000	¥3,600	¥3,080
Add-on for a complex case or immediate restoration	+¥2,000	up to +50%	+¥1,540
Temporary crown, per tooth position	¥170	¥154	¥366
Post and core, per root canal	¥1,000	¥650	¥1,000
Removing an old crown	¥185	¥122	¥204
Repair or re-cementing outside the warranty	¥180	¥146	¥180

• "Complex" means, for example, a deep overbite, moderately or severely discoloured teeth, four or more fixed units, severe bone loss, jaw-joint disease or very short teeth^[1][4].
• These are ceilings. Hospitals may charge less, not more^[13][3][6]. Beijing's caps apply to public, non-profit and insurance-designated institutions^[14]; in Shenzhen, lower-grade hospitals use lower tiers, down to ¥2,464 for the fitting fee^[5][6].
• Not every province has switched yet. Provinces are still adopting the new national price-item guidelines, and the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) aims to finish by the end of 2026^[39]. Where an older list still applies, the service fee can be much lower: Quzhou People's Hospital in Zhejiang lists crown restoration (冠修复(全冠)) at ¥88 per tooth, whatever the material, and charges the crown product separately^[36][8].
• Crowns are self-pay even for locals. Beijing puts the fitting fee in its non-reimbursed category, and Shanghai's insurance fund does not pay for fixed restorations^[2][12][4]. Visitors cannot use mainland public insurance anyway; Beijing's guide for foreigners says international patients are charged the same standard as residents and pay out of pocket or through commercial insurance^[15]. VIP (特需) departments, international clinics and private hospitals set their own prices.

Implant crowns: what the 2023 listing covered

When China cut implant prices in 2022–2023, it split the bill into a service fee, the implant system and the crown, and priced the crown-fitting service separately from the crown product^[16]. Sichuan then ran a competitive price listing (竞价挂网) for crowns, and the other provinces linked their prices to it^[16][17].

• What was listed: all-ceramic crowns for single implants made mainly of zirconia — white zirconia and coloured zirconia, including single-colour and layered (multi-layer) blanks. The price had to include dyeing, delivery, remakes and tools. Suppliers must add veneering porcelain and staining free when clinically needed, replace defective crowns free within the warranty, and make each crown only from its registered raw material^[18].
• Results: 107 of 110 bidding companies were shortlisted in March 2023 at an average of ¥327. The product with the highest pre-bid price fell to ¥600, and the most-used product to ¥150^[19]. Nationally the range was ¥100–656, averaging just over ¥300^[7][17].
• Before: mainstream implant-crown prices had been about ¥300–1,200, the highest above ¥2,400^[19]; public hospitals mostly paid over ¥1,000 for a lab-made implant crown^[20].
• Other materials are listed with reference to the all-ceramic prices^[16]. In 2023 Hunan, for example, capped non-zirconia implant crowns at ¥656, the highest listed price^[21].
• At the hospital: public hospitals sell listed crowns at the listed price with no markup, and a lab crown's price includes returns for adjustment during treatment^[16]. The NHSA publishes the institutions that signed up to these rules through its WeChat account^[7].
• Fitting: placing the crown on the implant is billed as the crown placement fee (牙冠置入费), part of the implant service fee, which tier-3 public hospitals should in principle keep within ¥4,500 per implant^[7]. Quzhou People's Hospital, for example, lists its single implant crown placement fee at ¥1,215^[37]. It is not the fitting fee for natural teeth described above.

The second round of implant-system procurement, launched on 28 September 2026 by Sichuan and Shaanxi for an alliance of provinces under NHSA guidance, plans to add titanium-zirconium implants and multi-unit abutments; Xinhua's report does not say crowns are included^[22]. As of October 2026 the 2023 figures are the latest national crown prices we found. For implant systems and the implant service fee, see implant brands and prices and dental implants.

Crowns on natural teeth: no public product price

For a crown on your own tooth there is no national or city product price. The hospital prices it as a product from material and processing costs, whether it is made in-house or by an outside lab^[10][1][4]; Shenzhen's list names crowns and dentures among these "personalised oral products"^[6]. Beijing lists precious metal as the one material charged on top of the fitting fee, at purchase price with no markup^[12]. In practice you see the product price only in the hospital's own list or quote.

Some hospitals publish theirs. Example: crown products only (service fee not included) in the consumables list of Quzhou People's Hospital, a public hospital in Zhejiang (undated list, viewed October 2026)^[8][9]:

Crown product (custom-made, 定制式固定义齿)	Listed price
Porcelain-fused-to-metal, nickel-chromium alloy	¥70
Porcelain-fused-to-metal, cobalt-chromium alloy	¥160–180
Pressed-ceramic crown, 易美 brand (Chinese name of the IPS e.max line)[23]	¥360
Milled zirconia, depending on brand	¥350–792
Veneer: pressed ceramic / zirconia	¥378 / ¥700

The same hospital lists its most expensive zirconia brand at ¥792 on a natural tooth but ¥656 as an implant crown — the top of the national listing^[8][7]. For a crown on a natural tooth, its service fee is the older crown-restoration item at ¥88 per tooth^[36].

VIP clinics spread wider. Example: per-tooth prices at the VIP (特需) dental clinic of Ningbo University's First Affiliated Hospital, published April 2024: cobalt-chromium metal-ceramic ¥1,200; palladium-silver metal-ceramic (front tooth) ¥2,000; pressed all-ceramic ¥3,200; zirconia ¥3,500–6,500 depending on brand; CAD/CAM zirconia ¥5,000; full-metal cast cobalt-chromium ¥500 and titanium ¥1,500^[24]. The list does not say what each price includes, and prices may have changed since. At Peking University Hospital of Stomatology's VIP clinic, prosthodontic fees average 10–20% above the ordinary clinic, while material fees are the same^[25]. Private clinics are free to set their prices under national rules^[40], although in Beijing the caps also cover non-profit and insurance-designated institutions^[14].

How the materials differ

In brief, from the American Dental Association (ADA), the Chinese Stomatological Association (CSA) and a peer-reviewed review:

Material	Typically used for	Trade-offs
Monolithic (full-contour) zirconia	Crowns and bridges, mostly back teeth and multi-unit bridges[26]	Strongest of these ceramics; the more translucent zirconias trade some strength for looks[27][26]
Layered zirconia (zirconia core + porcelain)	Cases needing a more natural look where strength demands are modest[26]	Better appearance, but the weaker veneering porcelain can chip; layered crowns fracture more often than monolithic ones[27][26]
Lithium disilicate (e.g. IPS e.max)	Veneers, inlays, front-tooth and premolar crowns, short front bridges[26][28]	More translucent than any zirconia but less strong; can be bonded to the tooth[27][26]
Porcelain-fused-to-metal (烤瓷)	Crowns and bridges[27]	Metal strength under a porcelain surface that can chip. Base-metal alloys (nickel- or cobalt-chromium) are affordable but can cause metal sensitivity; noble alloys (gold, palladium) are well tolerated but cost more[27]
Full metal (gold or base-metal alloy)	Back teeth[27]	Long record of durability; metal colour[27]

Two tips for reading Chinese quotes: 铸瓷 means pressed ceramic, mainly lithium disilicate or leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic; and resin-ceramic blocks sold under names such as 聚合瓷 are, according to the CSA, not all-ceramic materials^[26]. No material suits every tooth. The CSA advises choosing by the clinical situation^[26] — the tooth, your bite and any grinding, the colour underneath and the space available — so decide with your dentist after an examination.

What drives the price difference

1. Tier. Ordinary public-hospital care is capped; VIP, international and private care is not. This is usually the biggest difference.
2. City and hospital grade. In the three cities above, fitting-fee caps run from ¥2,464 (Shenzhen's lowest tier) to ¥4,000 (Beijing) per tooth; top-tier caps are ¥3,080–4,000^[1][4][6]. Provinces still on older lists can charge far less^[36].
3. Material and brand. Where the hospital bills one service fee per crown (under the new lists in Beijing, Shenzhen and, from 20 November 2026, Shanghai; under Zhejiang's older list in Quzhou), material and brand change only the product line — ¥70 to ¥792 in the Quzhou example — plus, in Beijing, any precious metal at purchase cost^[12]. Some public hospitals still sell each crown type at a single self-set price that includes the lab work (Example: Wenzhou People's Hospital's April 2024 list runs from ¥500 for a nickel-chromium metal-ceramic crown to ¥4,000 for imported zirconia^[38]), so ask which system applies.
4. Case complexity. Four or more fixed units, marked discolouration or a deep bite count as "complex" and add up to 50% per tooth; temporary crowns, posts and removal of old crowns are separate items (see the table above).
5. Lab or chairside. Chairside CAD/CAM can finish suitable cases in a single visit^[29]. It is not automatically cheaper: Ningbo's VIP list prices a CAD/CAM zirconia crown at ¥5,000, inside the range of its other zirconia crowns^[24]. Because the fitting fee covers try-ins and adjustments, extra visits should not add service fees — but they add days to your trip^[1].
6. Warranty. The repair fee in the city lists applies only outside the warranty period^[1][4]; listed implant-crown suppliers must replace defective crowns free within it^[18]. Ask what the warranty covers and for how long.

What a written quote should list

• For a crown on a natural tooth: the fitting-fee item (修复体固定修复费) per tooth, or the older crown item where the new list is not yet used, and whether a complex or immediate add-on applies.
• The crown product: material (monolithic or layered zirconia, lithium disilicate, metal-ceramic and which alloy), brand, maker and registration number — crowns are registered medical devices (定制式固定义齿)^[18][8]. For precious alloys, how the metal is charged.
• Temporary crowns, posts and cores, removal of old crowns, X-rays.
• The tier (ordinary, VIP or international) and whether the city's capped prices apply.
• The warranty, and what happens if the crown chips after you fly home.
• For an implant crown, whether the product is on the listing and its listed price, and the crown placement fee within the implant service fee.

Our bilingual inquiry letter helps you ask for all of this in writing.

Veneers in brief

Shanghai's reference mapping table places porcelain veneers under the same fixed-restoration fee, and direct composite veneers under anterior aesthetic restoration (前牙形态修复费), capped at ¥1,060 per tooth in Shanghai from 20 November 2026^[30][4]; Beijing leaves that item to each hospital and Shenzhen to the market^[1][6]. In the Quzhou list, veneer products cost ¥378 (pressed ceramic) or ¥700 (zirconia)^[8][9]; Ningbo's VIP clinic charged ¥3,200–4,500 per veneer in 2024^[24]. Whether veneers suit you, and how much enamel they need, is covered in crowns and veneers.

Prices abroad, for comparison

• United States: Example: an insurer's consumer guide (MetLife, September 2025) puts the crown on a single implant at $800–3,000^[31]; Forbes Health (2024) gives $925–2,500 per veneer^[32].
• United Kingdom: Example: one private chain, Bupa Dental Care, lists ceramic crowns "from" £775 in Manchester and "from" £1,590 in Reading on its practice price pages (October 2026)^[33][34]; other practices charge differently. NHS England's Band 3 charge, £332.10 in October 2026, covers crowns when clinically necessary, and you may be offered a metal-coloured crown on a back tooth^[35].

Compare like with like: a capped Chinese fitting fee is not an all-in price. Add the product, temporary crown, X-rays, flights and the cost of a remake at home — see costs and price comparison.

What's true, what's not

Claim you'll read online	Verdict	What the sources say
"A zirconia crown costs ¥327 in China."	Misleading	¥327 was the average shortlisted price of the implant-crown product in Sichuan's March 2023 listing[17][19]; nationally the range was ¥100–656, averaging just over ¥300[7]. The implant service fee, which includes fitting the crown, comes on top, and crowns on natural teeth have no national price.
"Procurement crowns start at ¥656."	Misread	¥656 is the top of the 2023 implant-crown range — a product price, not a total[7].
"E.max is stronger than zirconia."	False	Zirconia is far stronger; lithium disilicate is more translucent[27][26].
"A 聚合瓷 crown is porcelain."	False	The CSA classifies these resin-ceramic composites as not all-ceramic[26].
"Foreigners pay more at public hospitals."	Not for standard prices	Same charge standard as residents[15]; VIP fees are higher for everyone[25].
"Digital (CAD/CAM) crowns are always cheaper."	Not necessarily	One VIP list prices them within the range of its other zirconia crowns[24].

Next steps

• Treatment steps, visits and days in China: crowns and veneers; the overview of dental trips: dental tourism in China.
• Pick a provider with finding a dentist in China, then browse hospitals for crowns and veneers or dental providers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
• Replacing missing teeth: implant brands and prices and dentures and full-mouth implants.
• Take your records home: medical records and follow-up.
• Send your X-rays with the inquiry letter tool, then let the planner fit appointments and lab days into your trip.