How Cosmetic Dentistry Restores the Look of a Damaged Smile

Having discolored, decaying or missing teeth in the visible part of your bite can really take a toll on your health – both physical and mental. Physically, damaged or lost teeth can make chewing, breathing and speaking more difficult. Mentally, in a culture that highly values first impressions, having a smile you feel the need to hide hurts your self-esteem. And that’s no way to live.

Luckily, there are several methods in cosmetic dentistry your dentist can use to restore the look of your smile. Discolored teeth can be whitened, gummy smiles can be corrected, chipped teeth can be repaired, and entire teeth can even be replaced, if needed.

Two of the most common methods of smile restoration in cosmetic dentistry are dental veneers and tooth crowns. These are both considered under the category of cosmetic dental work because, while they correct your smile, they don’t actually resolve any underlying medical issues. That doesn’t mean they have zero oral health benefits, though.

Let’s take a look at tooth veneers vs dental crowns: what are they, what’s the difference, and what the best choice?

What are Tooth Veneers?

A dental veneer is a very thin porcelain skin that’s bonded to the front of your tooth. It corrects the appearance of discoloration and mild chips, and can help stabilize teeth that are prone to cracked tooth syndrome, where micro-cracks form in the tooth from too much impact and destabilize its structure. Dentally bonding the veneer to the tooth can help restabilize it.

Veneers come in porcelain and composite. People tend to regard porcelain as the best choice, because of its slight translucency; it mimics the slight translucency of your natural teeth. However, this can limit how well a veneer can correct discoloration. Composite veneers, while less strong than porcelain, can be shaped to the tooth in a more exact way as it’s applied, and its opacity can cover larger chips and more severe discoloration.

What are Cosmetic Crowns?

A cosmetic dental crown is a semi-hollow fake tooth you place over a tooth that’s been altered to fit to the crown. This requires a significant amount of permanent alteration to the tooth, unlike tooth veneers, where they only lightly abrade the surface of the tooth before they apply the bonding. A crown is more likely in cases of tooth decay or teeth with a significant break.

The dentist files down or augments the damaged or decayed tooth, takes a mold, and creates a crown that will fit to the tooth. The color and shape of the crown mimics your natural teeth. Cosmetic crowns are more susceptible to moving or breaking, so they may need to be adjusted every so often.

Let Your Dentist Help you Choose the Best Option for You

So, what’s the best option for you? When comparing veneers and crowns, the best option is often determined by the issue you’re trying to fix. You can’t simply place a tooth veneer on a severely decaying tooth. Just the same, what possible reason would someone have to file away and crown a perfectly healthy tooth that just needed a veneer… or teeth whitening – we don’t always have to go getting a whole procedure done.

Point is – if you have a smile you’re self-conscious about, you’ve got a variety of options available to you. Just schedule a consultation with your dentist, let them know what you’d like the final result to be, and have them tailor a plan to get you a smile you’ll be proud to show off.