Should I Switch out my Veneers for Crowns?

After reading your question, it seems to me that your veneers are breaking due to an underlying "bite" problem.  Veneers are great restorations, but when placed into a destructive bite are prone to fracturing.  Do you grind your teeth at night? If the answer is yes, then you must wear a night guard to protect the porcelain.  Do you have a severe overbite?  Significant overbites can be tough on veneers if they are not placed out of the way of where the majority of your chewing forces occur. You should consult with a dentist that does lots of cosmetic dentistry and let them determine if you would be better suited with crowns. 

Veneers coming of can be a common occurance in a dental office that is new to smile makeovers or simply lacks the skills or experience.  A lot of factors go into a successful veneer case, including material selected (type of porcelain or resin), bonding agent ("glue") and the bite.  If your occlusion (bite) is parafunctional, veneers will pop off or break.  It is possible that an equilibrated, or balanced, bite will help.

Replacing veneers with crowns is certainly an option, but I would save it for last.

In your specific case of veneers regularly breaking or popping off sounds like a bite or Occlusal problem or perhaps a preparation and or bonding problem. Either way, before your case is redone your bite should be carefully evaluated for parafunctional habits or too much stress placed on your front teeth during function. If Occlusal problems are present it may be in your best interest to change your approach to Full coverage Porcelain crowns. Even before this approach is considered  Occlusal adjustments and an appliance to protect you from clenching may be a great place to start before future permanent Crowns or Veneers are placed. If you decide to have Crowns placed i agree with another post here in this forum regarding Emax all Porcelain crowns. They have excellent strength as well as superior Esthetic properties to match!

Sounds like you had a poor job done or you were not a good candidtate for veneers to begin with. It would be healthier if you just did veneers again, but do them right.

I personally have my own Veneers for 20 years.  In my opinion the cases that seem to last the longest are due to the following reasons: 1. Enamel only preparation. When a minimal amount of tooth is removed the bond is more predictable and these restorations have less problems than those where a large amount of tooth structure was removed. 2. A favorable bite. Chewing is not static but dynamic. Those Veneers that seem to chip usually have some bite problem that has not been diagosed properly.  3. Good Home care and habits:. Taking good care of the veneers, seeing your dentist for maintainence and avoiding habits such as biting on ice, objects, sports without mouthguards and lead to chipping and debonding of the veneers.  If these apply in your case you may want to switch to crowns were the crowns have added strength build on the engineering of the restoration.  Crowns can come in a variety of materials. Some sacrifice strength for esthetics. Other's are better at hiding discoloarations of the underlying tooth structures.

 

Good luck,

 

Dr. Steven Glassman