WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DENTAL CROWNS AND VENEERS?

If you usually hesitate to give an open-mouthed smile, you’re probably worried about the condition of your teeth and embarrassed by how it affects your smile. Misalignment, unevenness, gaps, discoloration, tooth decay, and damage are common causes of smile reluctance. However, cosmetic dentistry can correct these imperfections and make it easier to display your pearly white smile proudly.

The dental experts at Southwest Florida’s Island Tower Dentistry have enhanced the smiles of hundreds of their Marco Island-area patients with dental crowns and veneers. Both restorative dental treatments can significantly improve the appearance of teeth, but the dental field primarily uses crowns for functional treatment, while veneers are primarily used for cosmetic purposes. Let’s look at the difference between dental crowns and veneers and how dentists use them to help improve people’s smiles.

WHAT IS A DENTAL CROWN?

A dental crown is a prosthetic cap dentists use to partially or entirely cover a damaged tooth to restore its shape, size, strength, and appearance. Most crowns are made of porcelain, but some are made of other ceramic materials, gold or metal alloys, zirconia, and porcelain fused with metal. When a patient’s permanent crown is being constructed, dentists typically cover the damaged tooth with a crown made of resin or acrylic material. Your dentist may recommend that one or more of your teeth should be crowned for the following reasons:

• Cover and protect large fillings that have weakened the tooth.
• Strengthen a tooth weakened by a root canal.
• Restore teeth worn down by grinding.
• Restore and protect broken or severely decayed teeth.
• Provide support to cracked teeth.
• Repair broken cusps.
• Dental implant coverage.
• Add structure to a dental bridge.
• Cosmetic reshaping of misshapen teeth.
• To cover excessive staining.

WHAT IS A DENTAL VENEER?

A dental veneer is a thin covering of strong, tooth-like material applied to teeth to cover imperfections and address other dental issues. Due to its strength, durability, stain resistance, and adhesion properties, most veneers are made of porcelain, though some dentists offer composite resin veneers as a more affordable, though less durable, option. Porcelain veneers are the better option because they mimic the look and feel of natural teeth and can be tinted to match the unique coloration of each patient’s natural teeth. The versatility of porcelain veneers allows dentists to use them to correct many cosmetic issues, including:

• Misaligned teeth
• Uneven or crooked smiles
• Small gaps between teeth
• Tooth decay, chips, cracks, or other damage
• Worn down teeth
• Stunted teeth
• Stains

Porcelain veneers may be unable to correct major imperfections like significant gaps, excessive misalignment, and deep discoloration, while some people’s bite patterns preclude using them. In such cases, your dentist may recommend fitting teeth with crowns rather than veneers.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FITTING CROWNS VERSUS VENEERS

Of the two procedures, getting fitted with a crown is more complex and requires more dental work than getting veneers affixed to teeth. Prep work for a crown fitting can include x-rays, root canal, and dental filling work and involves filing down the existing tooth enamel to give the crown enough room to fit over the tooth. Once the prep work has been completed, your dentist will cover the tooth with a temporary crown to allow its functional use while you await the construction of your permanent crown from the dental lab. When ready, your dentist will remove the temporary crown and inspect the fit, positioning, shape, and color of the permanent crown to ensure they work before permanently cementing it in place.

As with crowns, getting fitted with veneers will entail more than one dental office session. Veneer prep work involves modeling how your teeth will look with the veneers, with your dentist making impressions of your dentition, which the local dental lab will use to create a wax model of your teeth covered with veneers. Once the tooth color and shape of the modeling meet everyone’s satisfaction, the application process begins with the removal of a small amount of enamel from veneer placement areas. Your dentist will fit you with temporary composite veneers to protect the teeth while you await the fabrication of the permanent veneers. Once ready, you’ll return to the dental office, where they will be permanently affixed with cement after a trial inspection to ensure they give your teeth the desired new look and feel.

DETERMINE WHETHER YOU COULD BENEFIT FROM CROWNS OR VENEERS

With extensive experience fitting their Marco Island, Florida-area patients with crowns and veneers, Island Tower Dentistry’s Dr. Jonathan Van Dyke and Dr. Ryan Whelen can help you determine which option can best give you more reason to smile. To maximize our smile-beautification capabilities, we encourage our patients to undergo a Smile Analysis. This comprehensive consultation and dental exam assesses all elements of your smile to determine the best options—including crowns and veneers—for creating a dazzling smile that you’ll be proud to share with the world. For all your functional and cosmetic dental needs, contact us today at 239-394-1004 for a consultation.