Color issue as well as broken veneer

About a year ago I received a porcelain veneer and a porcelain crown. I was not happy with the color and then about a month ago my veneer broke. I went into my dentists office and they offered to redo the broken veneer as well as redo the crown but the color technician is pushing to do both front teeth now with zirconium base crowns to make sure the color is right.

I would rather not sacrifice anymore of my healthy tooth for color. Shouldn't the ceramic color technician be able to match a veneer and zirconium base crown with a new veneer better than before? What should I request?

3 answers to “Color issue as well as broken veneer”

A: Different materials handle light differently

Joseph W.  Worthington, DDS

Different materials handle light differently. Close is the best you can hope for if you use a zirconia based crown. What I would do is make the crown out of feldspathic porcelain (the same porcelain as the veneer) and get perfect while keeping things conservative, the way you want it! 

A: Different materials look different

Lance Timmerman, DMD

Light interacts differently with different materials.  If a crown was zirconium based and the veneer was not, it would be a challenge to get an exact match.  It can look CLOSE, but not identical.  If close is good enough, then different materials should be fine. If a perfect match is desired,... more

A: Broken Veneer

Susan Goode Estep, DMD

Depending on your situation, it should be possible for the ceramist to match the two teeth. This is a tough clinical situation, however and is usually best handled by a master ceramist and experienced cosmetic dentist. While it may be necessary to prep the veneered tooth slightly, it should not require a full... more

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