Today, we are going to take a close look at the differences between a dental veneer and a dental crown. I will give you the top 5 things to consider when choosing to fix your front teeth. Stay tuned. . .
A veneer is a thin layers of porcelain that is permanently bonded to your teeth & can change the color, size & even shape of your smile. Veneers can repair crooked, stained, and broken teeth
It can be done as a cosmetic dental procedure for someone that simply doesn’t like how their smile looks. . . As you can see here, a couple veneers can go a long way in fixing your teeth while a full set of veneers can really enhance your smile.
A dental crown is a “cap” that typically covers your entire tooth. It still has many of the same benefits as a veneer in that it can fix a broken, discolored tooth & overall improve your smile.
But typically, its used for those of you out there that have severely broken down tooth or teeth that need to be protected from cracking more. If you already have very large fillings and or decay a crown is sometimes preferable or even required to protect your tooth.
& crowns can be made of a variety of materials
Gold crowns are long lasting, zirconia crowns are incredibly strong, & emax crowns give some of the best aesthetics.
Depending on the whether we’re working on a back tooth or front tooth will play a huge factor in what type of material your dentist recommends.
So a lot of my patients ask which is better? A veneer or crown?
Let's find out!?
5 REASONS TO CROWN / VENEER YOUR FRONT TOOTH
- Broken Front Tooth
- Fillings / Cavities
- Grinding Teeth
- Straighten Teeth
- Whiten Teeth
#1 HOW BAD DID YOU BREAK YOUR FRONT TEETH
If your tooth is only slightly chipped without too many cracks, I would recommend fixing it with a porcelain veneer or composite filling
Composite bonding is a bit less expensive but can definitely stain over time.
We can also do a composite veneer but this stains over time and I typically limit that procedure to younger patients.
Now, if you broke your tooth in a big way then I would definitely recommend getting a crown. Crowns cover the entire tooth and can withstand a lot of wear and tear.
#2 DO YOU HAVE A VARIETY OF CAVITIES ON YOUR TEETH
In order to have a strong long lasting permanent veneer, dentists need to bond to healthy enamel (the outermost layer of tooth)! THAT IS CRITICAL!
If you have any previous fillings or decay that negatively affects this enamel, your dentist might want to place a crown on your tooth.
This is because our bond strength is higher on enamel which makes the veneer last longer.
Other major factors that can negatively affect your enamel include acid reflux, oral habits like sucking on lemons, and even genetics
#3 DO YOU GRIND YOUR TEETH
Veneers are very thin and can break if your banding on them at night.
SO, if you have a lot of broken teeth due to because your grinding them at night then your dentist might recommend a crown over a veneer.
It’s best to have your dentist analyze your grinding habits (show knuckles grinding) before deciding whether a veneer is the best option . . .
If you do choose veneers, then I would definitely recommend wearing a night guard to protect them from popping off at night
#4 DO YOU WANT STRAIGHT TEETH WITHOUT BRACES
Another huge question I get from my patients is whether veneers can straighten their teeth and if they can do do veneers instead of braces.
The short simple answer is yes; but, braces are much less invasive and simply move your teeth into the correct position.
For the most ideal results, we like to do a combination of both. We use braces to align the teeth to a more ideal position and then start the veneer process.
A huge shoutout to my close friend Dr. Greg who talks all about braces in his channel braces explained, a must watch for those that are considering braces
#5 ARE YOU CONSIDERING TEETH WHITENING
I always recommend dental whitening as a first step brighten your smile, but if your teeth are really dark or have a history of tetracycline staining, there is only so much whitening can do.
Veneers can make your teeth whiter but if its too dark then a crown might be needed to mask the dark color.
CONCLUSION
Now, we still have so much more to talk about in terms of different veneer designs and indications as to why we use certain designs on certain cases.
Im not sure if this is too technical for the channel or if I should make a detailed video going over the process step by step.
f you have any questions or video ideas I want you to leave a comment down below! This helps me figure out what people want to learn about on this channel.
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