The short version
A veneer covers the front of a tooth. A crown covers the whole tooth. To make room for a crown, the dentist removes enamel from every side, which takes away much more of the tooth than a veneer does.
Veneer
- Front surface only
- Thin preparation, often under a millimetre
- Mostly stays in enamel
- For shape, colour, small gaps
Crown
- Covers the whole tooth
- Much heavier preparation on all sides
- Can irritate the nerve of a healthy tooth
- For broken, heavily filled or root-treated teeth
Why it happens
Crowns are quicker and more forgiving to make. Crooked or uneven teeth can be "straightened" by cutting them down and covering them, instead of aligning them first. A plan for 20 crowns can be done in a few days. That is why some low-priced "veneer" packages are really crown packages.
Some patients genuinely need crowns on some teeth. The problem is not crowns, it is not being told.
How to protect yourself
- Ask which teeth would get what. A first quote made from your description can only estimate this. Ask the clinic to say which teeth it would expect to veneer or crown, and why. After the X-ray and examination, and before anything is prepared, ask for the final plan in writing, tooth by tooth: veneer, crown, filling, nothing.
- Ask how much will be removed. A dentist planning veneers can tell you the expected preparation in millimetres.
- Ask about alternatives. Could whitening, bonding or a short course of aligners first mean fewer teeth are touched?
- Ask to see a mock-up. A temporary preview on your own teeth shows the result before anything is drilled.
- Get it in writing. On dental.holiday, clinics reply in writing, so you have the answer to every one of these questions on record.
Fewer teeth can look better
Natural smiles are not perfectly white and perfectly uniform. Eight to ten carefully made veneers on the teeth that show when you smile often look better than twenty bright crowns. If a clinic suggests fewer teeth than you asked for, that is usually a good sign.