Restoring Your Damaged Smile: A Look at Veneers vs. Crowns

Having discolored, damaged, or missing teeth in the visible part of your bite can really take a physical and mental toll on your health. 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.

At Beckham Square Family Dental, we offer several cosmetic procedures to restore the appearance 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 fall under the category of cosmetic dental work. But that doesn’t mean they have zero oral health benefits.

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 layer that’s bonded to the front of your tooth. It corrects discoloration and mild chips and can help stabilize teeth prone to cracked tooth syndrome, in which microcracks form from excessive impact and destabilize the tooth’s structure. Dentally bonding the veneer to the tooth can help stabilize it.

Veneers come in porcelain and composite. People tend to regard porcelain as the best choice because it mimics the slight translucency of your natural teeth. However, this can limit the effectiveness of a veneer in correcting discoloration. Composite veneers, while not as strong as porcelain, can be shaped to the tooth in a more exact way as they’re applied, and their opacity can cover larger chips and more severe discoloration.

As previously stated, veneers can stabilize a tooth that has been compromised by a large chip or crack. That’s why some veneers are better applied sooner rather than later to prevent the acceleration of certain types of damage. If spacing or gaps between teeth is the issue, veneers can be more than an aesthetic solution, as unaddressed spacing can lead to misalignment of surrounding teeth over time.

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 the crown. This requires a significant amount of permanent alteration to the tooth, unlike tooth veneers, which only lightly abrade the tooth surface before bonding. A crown is more appropriate when a tooth has tooth decay or a significant crack.

The dentist files down or augments the damaged or decayed tooth, takes an impression, and then creates a crown that fits the tooth. The crown’s color and shape mimic your natural teeth. Cosmetic crowns are more susceptible to movement or fracture and may require periodic adjustments.

While a dental crown can significantly improve your smile, it’s more important for its oral health benefits. Furthermore, delaying a much-needed dental crown can be detrimental. If left untreated, a large crack can threaten the tooth’s structural integrity. Even a large cavity can progress to serious tooth decay and may require a root canal, as a new crown can be applied.

Let Your Dentist Help You Choose Your Best Option

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?

The most reputable and experienced dentists, like the professionals at Beckham Square Family Dental, don’t consider a veneer or crown a one-and-done procedure. Instead, any structural issues require comprehensive treatment mapping to determine whether a veneer or crown will best support your overall oral health.

Treatment mapping involves assessing your dental needs, identifying the most urgent ones, and recommending a treatment plan that addresses all your issues in stages. Suppose you see your dentist for veneers because of tooth discoloration. During the exam, the dentist explains that you have a cavity that takes priority over veneers. They’ll map out a care schedule that includes filling the cavity, ensuring the tooth responds well to the filling, and then scheduling an assessment and veneer placement at a later date.

If you’re self-conscious about your smile, you have several options. Schedule a consultation with us today and let us know what cosmetic enhancements you want to achieve. We’ll tailor a plan to give you a smile you’ll be proud to show off.