Porcelain crowns and veneers are both good options for dental restoration. But how do we choose from the two? What is the difference between them? Let's take a look.

1. Different Indications

Veneers and porcelain crowns can both restore the discolored teeth, but how to choose depends on the damage of the teeth.

Porcelain crown: it is available for almost all kinds of teeth. As long as the root is retained, the tooth can be restored with a porcelain crown;

Dental veneer: it works for slightly damaged tooth, but not for severely damaged one.

2. Different Amount of Tooth to be Shaved

Porcelain crown: if your natural tooth crown is not available but the root is, you can consider placing an artificial porcelain crown on the root. However, this kind of restoration requires to shave down the healthy teeth on two sides to anchor the bridge, which is irreversible and destructive;

Dental veneer: it is applied to restore slightly damaged tooth. Dental veneer is a thin layer of porcelain which only requires a small amount of tooth to be shaved, in some cases even no shaving is needed. Compared with veneer, porcelain crown will have more teeth to be ground.

3. Different Functions

Porcelain Crown Restoration

(1) Severe tetracycline teeth and dental fluorosis can be restored with porcelain crowns;

(2) Patients with severely crooked teeth can choose porcelain crown if the doctor ensures that porcelain crown can significantly improve their appearance, otherwise they should receive orthodontic treatment;

(3) In the case of multiple chipped teeth, porcelain crowns can protect or restore the shape of the teeth.

Veneer Restoration

(1) Patients with slightly crooked teeth can choose veneers to restore the shape and position of the teeth;

(2) Yellowish-black teeth, mild and moderate tetracycline teeth can be restored with veneers;

(3) Patients with gaps between the teeth can wear veneers to improve their appearances;

(4) Patients who have basically good teeth but wish to further improve the appearance of the teeth can resort to porcelain veneers. 

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