The crown of your tooth is the white part of you tooth above your gum. When you have a crown restoration, it refers to a porcelain or metal covering over your entire tooth. A veneer is much more conservative than a crown, and usually only covers the front and maybe the biting edge of your tooth.

Depending on the position of your tooth and any previous fillings, veneers can also extend between the sides of your teeth. If your tooth is heavily broken down, or has a lot of fillings, then it may need a crown instead of a veneer. Crowns and veneers can be used on different teeth next to each other to give you the best result!

Porcelain Veneers:

• have a more stable colour and don't stain,
• are stronger than resin veneers,
• generally require more tooth to be cut to make room for the porcelain material,
• are applied over two dental appointments,
• are more expensive than resin veneers.

Resin Veneers:

• can get stained and need to be polished and maintained regularly,
• are not as strong as porcelain veneers and can chip more easily,
• are generally more conservative, rarely requiring cutting of your tooth,
• are usually completed in one dental appointment,
• are less expensive compared to porcelain veneers.

If you have a lot of wear and tear on your front teeth from grinding you may benefit from a night guard to protect your lovely new veneers from getting chipped. Similarly, if you have a nail biting habit, or enjoy biting into really hard things with your front teeth then these extra stressors on your veneers can shorten their lifespan!