Veneers vs crowns: which one does each tooth need?

The main difference between veneers and crowns is how much of the tooth they cover. A veneer is a thin shell of ceramic or composite bonded to the front surface of a tooth to change its colour, shape or length. A crown is a cap that covers the whole visible tooth to restore its strength as well as its look.

Put simply, a veneer is a cosmetic change to a tooth that is basically sound. A crown is a repair for a tooth that has lost much of its structure to decay, large fillings, a crack or root canal treatment.

Both are made and fitted in one trip to Istanbul. Crowns take about 3 to 5 days and veneers 5 to 7 days, so a plan with some of each fits in the same visit. Materials and full price tables are in our E-max veneers guide and our zirconia crowns guide.

A veneer usually removes about 0.3 to 0.5 mm of enamel from the front of the tooth, while a crown needs about 1 to 1.5 mm trimmed from every surface.

In a laboratory study of upper front teeth, veneer preparations removed about 3 to 30% of the tooth above the gum, by weight. Full crown preparations removed about 63 to 72%.¹

Enamel, the hard outer layer of the tooth, is only about 1 mm thick on front teeth at its thickest. A veneer stays mostly within it, and ceramic bonds very strongly to enamel.

A crown goes through the enamel into the softer dentine. The more is removed, the closer the drill comes to the nerve, and the more the tooth depends on the crown to hold it together.

Neither is reversible, because enamel does not grow back. But a veneered tooth keeps most of its structure and can later be re-veneered or crowned, while a crowned tooth can only ever have another crown.

Some small or inward-set teeth need minimal preparation or none. Ask how much each tooth will lose, in millimetres, before you agree to anything.

A crown is the right choice when a tooth has lost so much structure that it needs holding together, not just a new surface.³ These are the situations where I recommend one:

• Large fillings. When more than about half of the visible tooth is filling, there is too little enamel left to bond a veneer to.
• Back teeth after root canal treatment. They are more brittle and take heavy chewing forces. In one long-term study, root-filled teeth that were not crowned were lost about six times as often as those that were.⁵
• Cracked teeth. A crown wraps the tooth and holds a crack together; a veneer cannot.
• Badly worn teeth. Teeth worn short by grinding or erosion often need full coverage, plus a night guard.
• Replacing an old crown. A crowned tooth cannot go back to a veneer; it gets a new, better-matched crown.
• On an implant. An implant always carries a crown. Our dental implants guide explains how.

Crowns are routine and well proven: in England the NHS provides them under its Band 3 charge when clinically needed.⁴ The problem is only crowns on teeth that did not need repairing.

For back teeth there is also a middle option. An onlay, or partial crown, covers only the weakened cusps (the raised points of a back tooth) and keeps its healthy sides.

For healthy front teeth, veneers are usually the better choice, because they change colour, shape and small gaps while keeping most of the tooth. The Oral Health Foundation describes veneers as a way to improve the colour, shape and position of teeth.²

Veneers work well for:

• Teeth that stay discoloured after whitening, including a single darkened tooth.
• Small chips, worn or uneven edges, and teeth that look too short.
• Small gaps and mildly crooked teeth, if you do not want orthodontics first.
• Old, stained composite bonding you want to replace.

Ask first whether something simpler would do part of the job. Whitening alone may fix colour, and clear aligners (see our Invisalign treatment guide) may straighten teeth so that fewer, thinner veneers are needed.

Not every front tooth suits a veneer. One that is root-filled and dark, heavily filled or cracked often does better with a crown, which is why the decision belongs to each tooth, not the whole smile.

E-max is the usual material for veneers, zirconia for back-tooth crowns, and E-max or multilayer zirconia for front-tooth crowns, depending on how much strength the tooth needs. Composite is a cheaper, shorter-lived option for veneers.

• E-max (lithium disilicate). A glass-ceramic that can be made very thin and lets light through like enamel. The usual choice for veneers and front-tooth crowns.
• Zirconia. The strongest tooth-coloured material in routine use, for back teeth and heavy biters. It is more opaque, which helps hide a dark root-filled tooth.
• Multilayer aesthetic zirconia. Graded from a strong body to a more translucent edge: a good compromise for front crowns that need extra strength.
• Composite resin. Built up by hand on the tooth, often with little or no drilling. Cheaper and easy to repair, but it stains and chips more readily.

The lab matters as much as the ceramic. A skilled ceramist layers and stains each veneer by hand so it blends with its neighbours.

One practical point: ceramics do not respond to whitening. If you want your natural teeth lighter, whiten them before the shade of your veneers and crowns is chosen.

A veneer can cost more than a crown because it takes more skilled work, not more material. A veneer is thinner, usually layered by hand to copy enamel, and bonded under strict moisture control, one tooth at a time.

That creates an uncomfortable incentive in some clinics: crowns can be quicker to make, yet they remove far more tooth. A lower price should never be the reason a healthy front tooth is crowned.

Our prices per tooth are roughly two thirds lower than typical UK private fees, or more, before flights. On plans over €2,000 the hotel and airport transfers are included.

Pricing a whole smile? A set of 16 veneers is €3,840 at our clinic. Our Hollywood smile cost guide compares full-smile prices by country, and our Hollywood smile page lists what is included.

Well-made porcelain veneers and ceramic crowns typically last 10 to 15 years or more. A systematic review of glass-ceramic and porcelain veneers found close to 9 in 10 still in place after about 10 years.⁶

A large review of single crowns found more than 9 in 10 survived at least 5 years across the main ceramics, including lithium disilicate and zirconia.⁷

Composite veneers have a shorter life, typically about 4 to 8 years, although they are easier to repair.

The same things shorten the life of both: grinding without a night guard, biting hard objects, gum disease and decay at the edges. Our veneers and crowns carry a 10-year written warranty, with conditions such as regular check-ups and a night guard where we prescribe one.

Care, warning signs and replacement are covered in our guide to how long veneers last.

A prosthodontist, a dentist who specialises in restoring and replacing teeth, decides by examining every tooth on its own merits and then designing the smile as a whole. Our plans start with X-rays, a 3D scan, photographs and a digital smile design, and every tooth in the smile line is given a reason for what happens to it.

Here is an illustrative mixed plan for the upper front teeth, not a real patient:

• Four front incisors: healthy, slightly yellow, small chips. E-max veneers.
• Both canines: healthy but darker than the incisors. E-max veneers to match.
• Left first premolar: root-filled, with a large filling. A zirconia crown to protect it.
• Right first premolar: an old crown with a dark line at the gum. A new crown, shade-matched to the veneers.
• Second premolars: healthy and barely visible when smiling. Nothing, or whitening.

Six veneers, two crowns and two untouched teeth: that is what a careful plan often looks like. Ten identical crowns on the same mouth would remove several times more healthy tooth for a similar look.

That gap between what a mouth needs and what is sold is the story behind Turkey teeth, and it can happen anywhere. Our honest guide to dental treatment in Turkey covers how to choose a clinic.

Start with a plan for each tooth, not a price for a smile. These steps take a few minutes and cost nothing.

1. Fix the basics first. If you have bleeding gums, decay or pain, see your local dentist before any cosmetic work.
2. Take three daylight photos: a full smile, a close-up of your front teeth, and your teeth slightly apart. Add any recent X-ray.
3. Ask for a tooth-by-tooth plan through our free plan form. A prosthodontist replies within 24 hours with a recommendation and a fixed price for every tooth.
4. Compare like with like. Our E-max veneers guide and zirconia crowns guide have full price tables; check any quote against the questions above.
5. Plan your aftercare. Keep a check-up with your dentist at home and ask whether you need a night guard.