What is the Difference Between a Crown and a Veneer?

Twenty or so years ago there was a big difference between a crown and a veneer. A veneer was a very thin porcelain shell designed to fit over the front of a tooth to change the color or surface. They were very delicate and very few dentists felt comfortable using them. Only a handful of dentists did veneers regularly, in fact Cosmetic Dentistry was in its infancy. A crown at the time was generally thought of as a restoration designed to cover the entire tooth and usually made from gold, or ceramic fused to a metal foundation. Crowns and caps were cemented in and veneers were bonded to the teeth. Most of the time crowns were considered as a last ditch effort to fix a tooth if a filling was just going to be too big and unpredictable, or if a tooth needed a root canal. Crowns were not considered “cosmetic”.

Dentists performing veneers back then were thought of as “Mavericks” and the procedure and process wasn’t being taught in dental schools. As an aside … most dental schools to this day do not have a formal clinic designed to teach veneers and cosmetic dentistry. To perform excellent cosmetic dentistry requires post graduate training, an artistic eye, and lots of practice.

Fast Forward to the present. The distinction between a crown and a veneer is much less clear. In fact, in our practice we typically will use a “hybrid” veneer/crown for many of our cosmetic dentistry cases depending on what we are trying to fix or change. A veneer and a crown can be made of the exact same brand of material today, making it much easier to match teeth and get predictable results. Sometimes veneers not only cover the front of the teeth, but also wrap around the sides and top of the tooth, much like a crown does. Now, there are even different types of veneers. You have heard of lumineers right? Well, how about Empress, Finesse, Da Vinci, Cerinate, Mac, and Razor, just to name a few. Veneers can be made from different types of materials as well, and by lab techs with different skill levels.

Crowns and veneers today are used to not only change the color and surface of a tooth, but also to create a camouflage effect for people with missing, crooked, broken, cracked, or small teeth. Sometimes dentists will refer to this as “instant” orthodontics because you can take a mouth of teeth in the wrong position and make them look straight. Crowns and veneers are also used to build up worn down teeth to open the bite and take years off, also referred to as a dental face lift.