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. 

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

Veneers, in most cases, are the most esthetic and the most conservative restoration possible. In your case, veneers haven't been a successful restoration  - and possibly for several reasons.  It sounds like your bite may be problematic, especially if you continue to breakoff veneers.

I would recommend that you consider having your case carefully evaluated for bite problems - first.  It's called occlusion, and that may be why your veneers are breaking.  That needs to be addressed before you invest in more porcelain work.  You may need a splint or nightguard to protect your veneers/crowns from future breakage too.

The good news is that full coverage crowns are very strong.  The newer porcelain material, Emax, is may times stronger than veneer porcelain for just a few years back.  If you do need new crowns, then I would ask your dentist about Emax for your case.  This may be your best bet.  Best of luck.

The first thing that I would wonder about is why your veneers keep breaking off.  Under normal circumstances and done with proper technique, veneers can last 15 to 20 years or longer.  When veneers break or come off there has to be a reason for it.  It could be related to excess bite forces being put on the teeth that need to be managed, bonding technique, aggressive tooth preparations that don't leave enough enamel for bonding, or a combination of some of these.  Once the cause can be found, the solution should be available.

Veneers are much more conservative than crowns in most cases.  This means that at the end of the day you save more of your healthy tooth structure with a veneer than you would with a crown.  Did you have wear on your teeth before they were prepared for the veneers?  If so, you might find that you could place crowns and they could fracture too.  These procedures are irreversible, which means that once you take away tooth structure for your restoration you can't grow it back.

Sometimes crowns are a better choice than veneers, but most of the time if I had a choice to do either, I would choose a veneer over a crown.

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.