Recently, I had a complete smile makeover done. The results are just amazing, but one small thing has puzzled me. When I got home and was checking out my new smile from every angle, it looks to me like my dentist used porcelain crowns rather than porcelain veneers, like we discussed. The porcelain seems to go all the way around my tooth, instead of just covering the front.
Is there a reason for this, customarily? And was I charged more for the porcelain crowns as opposed to the veneers? Don’t get me wrong - I am crazy about my new smile, and have received tons of compliments on it. I am just a little worried that there was something wrong with my teeth that made the dentist chose crowns over veneers. Is there something I should maybe be watching for down the road?
Kelly in Seattle
Dear Kelly,
There is not a percentage or measurement that really pinpoints when a porcelain veneer becomes a porcelain crown. Most cosmetic dentists charge the same or nearly the same amount for the two procedures, as they require about the same amount of time and work to complete.
It is indeed quite common to see smile makeovers done with porcelain crowns for cosmetic reasons, so you should not be concerned about any unknown conditions. Your dentist might have used crowns to support teeth weakend by fillings, or to make a change in your bite. Certainly, a responsible dentist would have told you about any issues that would require special attention from you or your regular dentist.
Crowns are a more aggressive treatment than veneers with more of the natural tooth structure removed, so it would be worth your time to ask your cosmetic dentist why he or she chose to go with crowns. Most dentists try to do the most conservative treatment possible, so there should be a good reason for choosing crowns over veneers.
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