Crown vs. Veneer

What is the difference between a crown and a veneer? When should a crown be used and when should a veneer be used? In this article, we will cover the differences between crowns and veneers and when each should be used. At the Vartanian Dental Group in Mission Viejo, veneers are very popular and fairly easy to install. A veneer is a ceramic or resin material that covers the front part of the tooth. The part that everyone can see. A Veneer is a good option to correct discolored teeth, slightly misplaced positioned teeth or spaces between teeth can all be covered up to make your smile look perfect with veneers. Veneers are durable and long lasting and are designed to fit onto existing teeth, usually strong teeth that might be discolored or misplaced positioned teeth. The trick here is color matching and how far do you take the veneers. For example, if you have one tooth that is discolored or has a gap somewhere, these can usually be covered with one veneer; you would want to color match the one veneer to match the existing teeth. In the case where you are needing two or three veneers, it is even more important that the veneers look natural in your mouth. In extreme cases where major work needs to be done, you might want to consider the entire upper front or the entire upper and lower front.

When I was a child growing up, I had major teeth problems. When my permanent teeth grew in, they were brownish in color with a huge gap between my teeth, where a tooth was missing as no fault of my own. It simply didn’t grow in after the baby tooth fell out. Then to make it worse, I crash my motorcycle at 19 years old, go flying over the handlebars without a helmet. I know, not the smartest. As my face goes flying into the asphalt, I am left with several chipped teeth. One was so bad, there was just a nub left, so not much to work with. I ended up needing a couple of crowns and at the time we were talking about the color of the crowns, I wanted white teeth for the first time in my life. I chose the major reconstruction option and I am so glad I did, because I’ve never been happier. Three crowns in the front, two veneers on top and I thought I was a movie star when I was finished. As the top of my mouth was so bright and white, I began to notice the bottom teeth weren’t as white as my top teeth. I knew I had the option of veneers, but just went through major reconstructive surgery, so I waited a while and finally took the plunge to get the bottom teeth with veneers. It was so much easier than the top, because of the motorcycle accident. My veneers were put on in one day and I have never been happier with my smile. Veneers can make anyone look like they are a Hollywood Movie Star!

If you have issues with your smile, teeth coloring, spacing etc and want to feel great about your smile, then consider getting veneers to help with any of those issues from one of the best dentists in Orange County, The Vartanian Dental Group in Mission Viejo. Veneers are fast and inexpensive to install as compared to crowns. Be sure to talk to Dr James Vartanian and his staff to see if your insurance will cover any of this work, which some may be deemed as cosmetic, while others are necessity. In the case where you just want a better looking smile, then this might not be covered. I can assure you, no price is too much to pay to have a million dollar smile. The wonderful feeling of confidence is priceless! Call the Mission Viejo dental office at 949-586-5669 to schedule your free consultation today!