teeth illustration

Dental crowns and veneers

Dental crowns and veneers both cover decayed, damaged or cracked teeth. They add strength to your teeth and improve your teeth’s appearance. They can also be used to cover unattractive or discolored teeth.

The dental crown process is usually completed within two office visits. During the first visit, an impression is made on the teeth. A temporary crown is fitted while a permanent one is being created. On the second visit, the crafted crown will be fitted and permanently cemented into place.

Veneers also require two dental visits for you to get them fitted. The procedure for fitting a veneer is the same as that of fitting a crown. Once they are permanently fixed, they look and feel like natural teeth. Both processes are quick and painless.

How to choose dental crowns

By type

There are different types of crowns and not all of them can provide dental solutions to your type of problem. For example, porcelain crowns are ideal for the front teeth because of their natural look. Metal crowns on the other hand are much more suited to the back teeth because they are strong and can withstand a lot of chewing force.

By Durability

The material that dental crowns are made of is very important because it will determine on which teeth it will be used on. For instance, metal crowns fused with porcelain are not strong enough and can break or chip. Resin crowns are also made of ceramic or porcelain but they are also durable and are the least expensive.

By Cost

How much will your dental crown cost? Most insurance companies have policies that pay 50% the cost for fitting dental crowns. If you are paying out of your own pocket, it can be quite expensive. You can however, talk to your dentist about payment plans.

How to choose veneers

By Type

There are two types of veneers; prepless (lumineers) and porcelain veneers. Prepless lumineers do not require you to make two visits to the dentist because they can be installed within the first visit. The process requires minimal or no tooth structure to be removed so minimal work is actually done on the teeth.

This however makes the whole process of fitting prepless veneers a little complicated because your dentist has to work with the shape of your teeth. Porcelain veneers on the other hand are much easier to fit.

By color

Porcelain veneers come in different shades of white. You can work with your dentist to select the right color of veneers that will make your teeth look as natural as possible. You should take note that once veneers have been fitted, they cannot be whitened. This is because the porcelain material cannot be whitened using tooth whitening procedures. If you want your veneers to be bright enough, consider asking your dentist to whiten your teeth first before fitting the veneers.