Yes dental implants are superior to bridges. Bridges had a strong place in the past, but today dental implants are the most advanced and conservative option for replacing missing teeth. I tell patients missing single teeth that dental implants are a "single tooth solution to a single tooth problem" meaning when you have one tooth missing implants won't involve the teeth surrounding the missing tooth. Bridges require the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth to be reduced down even if they have no current problems to hold the bridge, but dental implants do not since they stand alone to hold the implant crown. Dental implants are affordable and less expensive over the course of years giving you many advantages over bridges.
One of the beauties of Ceramic Crowns and Porcelain Veneers is their color stability. While teeth whitening does not make them whiter, you get the benefit in that stain really does not affect the porcelain on crowns and veneers. This makes them look healthy and beautiful and resistant to staining. When people talk about staining they are often seeing the root below the crown or veneer getting darker. Over time recession can occur revealing the root of the tooth and this area may appear darker than the porcelain.
I tell my patients that the goal of veneers is to remove only enough tooth structure to achieve the desired esthetic outcome. Since veneers preparations are very conservative by nature there is much less tooth structure removed especially compared to a crown preparation. Patients who are regularly seen for preventive care have the best and longest lasting outcomes because the teeth are kept cleaner and the tissues stay healthier. The healthier the tissue, the less recession (tissue sliding down) revealing the root. When the root is revealed there can be a difference in color and some patients will replace the veneers do to esthetic concerns. Although you are young, there is no reason that with proper prevention and habits you could expect years of service and replacement generally is at the patients request (wanting to make them whiter) and not for failure due to other more significant problems.
It is interesting that you are observing that "one tooth is longer" and not "one tooth is shorter." When patients tell me this I always help them evaluate their smile and we determine the best course. As a rule of thumb, you would want your front 2 teeth to be the same length and for them to be around the length of you canine teeth (the pointy ones). If the short one is the length of the canine teeth, then shortening the long one may be an option, but if the short one is much shorter than the canine teeth, then you would be best serve by lengthening the short one to match the longer one. This may be a little confusing, but your dentist can easily guide you to the best solution...
So many over-the-counter remedies can end up costing you more than you bargained for. Tipping the teeth together without controlled supervision is going to end up in trouble. When we place braces on teeth, we try to move the entire tooth as much as possible to give you a straight, natural looking smile not a tilted tooth look. As for bonding, you can close gaps with bonding, but you may end up with a much wider looking tooth than you wanted and that to would be unaesthetic. Often we close as much if not all of the gap with braces, and then if there is a minor amount of gap then finish it off with bonding.
