I had to have my first crown about 5 years ago (I'm 58). When my dentist asked me what type I wanted, I asked him which type was best - he said gold (it was for a back tooth). When I questioned him a bit about it, he opened his mouth and sure enough he had some gold crowns. So that's what I got. My granddaughter who was 8 at the time thought it was the coolest thing that I had a gold tooth
. I've since had another crown in the back on the other side and I got another gold one. Of course, if I had to get one that showed when you smiled, I'd get the porcelin. I haven't heard of the zirconia type! My portion of the insurance was about $450.