What's the difference between Veneers, Crowns and Bridges?

Please note the following pictures of celebrities and/or individual before/after pictures are taken from the internet for educational and illustration purposes, they are not done in our office.

So what is the difference between crown, veneers and bridges?

Dental Veneers, Crowns and Bridges are made in the lab because the material used to form them requires high heat and must be done in the laboratory oven.

The above images are of Celebrity smiles with before and after Veneers placement. Wow.. what a difference?

Lets start with Crowns! A crown is a strong cap that looks and feels like the patient's real tooth which is cemented onto the tooth that is crowned. A crown provides stability and protection to the tooth from strong chewing forces. Most of the time when a tooth needs to be crowned is due to the following reasons:
Root Canal Treatment - Too much tooth structure is lost either due to the cavity or large restoration that caused the root canal and/or the hole made on the tooth to perform the root canal.
Large Restorations - If the restoration is too large and the tooth already has some craze lines due to strong forces, the tooth should get a crown to avoid breakage.

A Bridge on the other hand might be required not because the tooth requires protection, but to close a space created by tooth loss. When a tooth is lost, the rest of the teeth tend to move towards each other and cause a lot of problems such as more tooth loss and gum irritation. Since there is space, the teeth right next to the space tend to get more force from chewing. Therefore those teeth tend to start moving and shifting, causing the patient to loose more teeth.

A bridge usually the two teeth next to the space for anchorage. The teeth need to be prepared (cut smaller) in order for the bridge to be cemented onto the teeth. This is the main reason why a single implant is a better choice than a 3 unit bridge. However some patients may be bad candidates for implants and the best option would be getting the bridge.

Veneers are a little more different than Crowns and Bridges mainly beause Veneers are done for esthetic reasons. Meaning, Veneers are done to make the patient look better because it tends to change the color, shape and size of the teeth. Veneers are mainly done on the anteriors since they tend to show when a person smiles. Veneers are also done to close a diastema which is space between two teeth. Also, some patients with discolored teeth mainly from tetracycline tend to get Veneers to mask the color since regular bleaching doesn't remove internal pigmentation of teeth.

Normally it takes two visits to get a crown, bridge or veneers done. The first day is the preparation of the tooth along with an impression taking. Which is getting a duplicate of your teeth and sent to the lab. This is the longest appointment of the two since most of the work is done the first visit. Second visit is cementation.

The best thing about changing your entire smile with Veneers, Crowns or Bridges is time. From start to finish it takes about 2 to 3 weeks. In comparison to Veneers, Orthodontics is also used to close gaps and straighten teeth. However, wearing Braces or Invisalign will take up to 2 years and cost about 4 to 5 thousand dollars. Even if the teeth get straight with Orthodontics, the size, shape and color of your teeth will remain the same. Veneers on the other hand will give you a totally different look - changing the size, color, shape and even closing out the gaps between the teeth in only 2 to 3 weeks.

With Veneers, Crowns or Bridges, the results are excellent because all of the restorations promote natural looking teeth that are both functional, esthetically beautiful and less time consuming.

Dr. Armine Ohanian is a perfectionist when it comes to cosmetic dentistry. Her vision and imagination when it comes to treatment planning for best results even surprise the patient's own expectations. Not every dentist is gifted in cosmetic dentistry. Don't take any chances with any other dentist because you only have one life.. and one smile!

Please call Adult and Kid's Dental Care (818)881-6761 to ask questions about a FREE consultation on Veneers, Crowns, Bridges and Full Mouth Reconstruction.

Now a days Veneers are affordable and you too can be like a Celebrity!