Dental Crowns for Teeth That Are Too Dark for Veneers?

Question

My dentist wants me to have 10 dental crowns on my top teeth, the teeth that show when I smile.  He says my teeth are naturally too dark to use porcelain veneers.  I recently bleached my teeth for a month with reasonable lightening occuring. One of my two front teeth is dead and would definitely need a crown. Do you agree that crowns are the way to go in this situation?

Lance Timmerman, DMD, MAGD · Answer

It is very common to do veneers on dark teeth. There are many techniques for masking out dark teeth, including opaque veneer material, blocking out tooth structure before veneers are placed, etc. It is likely that your dentist is not familiar with some of the methods or materials available. If this were MY situation, I would NOT be doing crowns, I would insist on veneers.  If your dentist says it won't work, seek a second opinion.
Dark teeth are one of the main reasons I place veneers, as do many others.

Daniel Beninato, DDS · Answer

Placing crowns instead of veneers to mask darker teeth is not necessary.  A well trained dentist working in conjunction with a good lab should have no problems masking darker teeth with veneers without the unnecessary tooth removal for crowns.

Laura Torrado, DDS · Answer

Nope! your dentist don't  have it right ...Sorry

	You can mask dark teeth with venneers very well if he or she uses a good dental laboratory 

	The root canal tooth definitely needs a crown though

	Will add some photos later

Cate Vieregger, DDS · Answer

There are new materials on the market that can mask a dark tooth with a veneer, for example E-Max.  It is beautiful, strong and could mask the color better than other materials.  If possible be as conservative as you can.  Perhaps some of the teeth could be veneered and the extremely discolored ones crowned to mask the darkness.

Joseph W. Worthington, DDS · Answer

I do it all the time and get great results. The key is to use a talented enough ceramist so you get a great result without the staining shining through.

Dental Crowns for Teeth That Are Too Dark for Veneers?

Answers (7)

Answer: Crowns and Veneers for discolored teeth

Answer: Crowns and Veneers for discolored teeth

Answer: Veneers are the way to go!

Answer: Veneers are the way to go!

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Dental Crowns for Teeth That Are Too Dark for Veneers?

Answers (7)

Answer: Crowns and Veneers for discolored teeth

Answer: Crowns and Veneers for discolored teeth

Answer: Veneers are the way to go!

Answer: Veneers are the way to go!

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Dental Crown

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.