Veneers or Crowns for Chipped Front Teeth? (photo)

Question

Hi, a bottle was thrown at me outside of a restaurant, chipping my two front teeth as shown in the pictures. Which is the most advisable fix? Veneers or crowns? I've heard that if I get veneers, I might have to get a total of four so that the front teeth don't stand out unnaturally. Thanks in advance.

Paul D. Kantor, DDS · Answer

I think the first step would be to bond the chipped teeth. Composite bonding can be done in one visit, and is the least expensive option to repair these teeth. While composite bonding will have to be redone at some point, it is a permanent material, so if you are happy with how the bonding looks you won't need to do anything else immediately. Long term, I think veneers would be better in your case than crowns since veneers need less tooth structure removal. Two veneers will probably be fine as far as matching the shade is concerned.

Charmen Douglas, DDS · Answer

Quick solutions for chipped teeth may be bonding for the two front teeth as a temporary solution, if you have more than an third of the teeth missing.  For long-term stability and strength, Veneers are a better option.  Veneers are more conservative than full coverage Crowns.  If there is nerve damage associated with the fractures a tooth, a Crown is the best option due to discoloration associated with nerve damage.

	Dr. Douglas

Pamela Marzban, DDS · Answer

Teeth bonding is done with a composite resin that can restore both aesthetics and function to your smile. Placed on both the front and back of teeth, the composite resin used in teeth bonding provides a strong, long-lasting, and seamless appearance to smiles impacted by decay or marred by cosmetic imperfections. Teeth bonding also requires very little of your natural tooth to be removed for these procedures, allowing more of your natural tooth to be preserved. Moreover, teeth bonding is done in one office visit, making it a much simpler and faster procedure.

	The material used in teeth bonding is not as strong as other restorative options, and may discolor, chip, or break over time. Knowing that the needs of each patient is unique, we always recommend our patient to consider options in terms of aesthetics and duration.

	Veneers are made of thin layer of porcelain, even though it sounds fragile, it is not. They never discolored and it looks great all the time. It is hard to determine from the photo if you need more than 2 veneers, but keep in consideration that if you are going to spend the money, think about doing teeth whitening and then take care of the front teeth. If you go to a great cosmetic dentist he will be able to make two beautiful veneers and have everything match perfectly. I do no think you need more than 2 if you are happy with the shape of your existing teeth.

Gerry Curatola, DDS · Answer

Based on your photograph, porcelain laminate veneers are a better choice than crowns as the preparation for the placement involves less reduction of your natural teeth. If done with a good ceramist, I also see no reason to prepping an additional two teeth as the central incisors (two front teeth) are the only ones that sustained any damage. It also appears that you chipped the incisal edges of your teeth and as a future reference you should immediately look for any fractured pieces of tooth and place them in milk (to keep them from decalcifying) or salt water if no milk is available. Often these pieces can be rebonded as well.

Leonard Tau, DMD · Answer

Based on the photos that you have provided I would recommend that you have your dentist place veneers. They are conservative if done properly, they look very natural if done by a quality laboratory. For any cosmetic procedure it is always easier to match teeth the more you do but if done in pairs you should be OK

Donald L. Wilcox, DDS · Answer

From your photos I definitely would recommend veneers as the most conservative and best approach. The more veneers done the easier it is to match everything, but if you are happy with the apearrance of your other teeth, a good cosmetic dentist can match two veneers to the rest of your smile.

Neal Nealis, DDS (retired) · Answer

A short term, cheap fix to broken front teeth is bonding; however, bonding material is mostly acrylic plastic.  Bonding can be placed on the teeth in a single visit and lasts from 5 to 10 years.  However in that time the material chips, discolors and wears so that it never looks better than the day it was placed.  On the other hand porcelain veneers require two visits and the help of a laboratory technician in between.  This makes the process initially more expensive; however because porcelain veneers are so durable often lasting a lifetime, this is a one time expense making it cheaper over the long term.  Crowns are porcelain veneers that go all the way around the tooth requiring removal of significantly more of the remaining tooth structures during the preparation visit.  You would choose this procedure if the nerve in the tooth was damaged and needed a root canal procedure or if the chipping was too severe and exceeded the limitations of a veneer.

Olga Kharevich, DMD, PhD (in memoriam) · Answer

In the situation with fracture or trauma to anterior teeth probably the best way will be try composite bonding- it`s less expensive option which will give you good aesthetics in the office of experienced dentist. After you will be ready for next step- you can veneer two anterior teeth, and again shade is never should be a problem. You don`t need to veneer all four anterior incisors.

Mickey Bernstein, DDS (retired) · Answer

From the picture you sent, you seem to have nice teeth with a pleasant shade. The other dentists who answered you question have covered the topic well noting the preference for more conservative veneers. You might also consider Bonding with composite resin and another conservative and less expensive alternative in the hands of a skilled cosmetic dentist. Best of luck to you.

Lawrence Singer, DMD (in memoriam) · Answer

You definitely should do veneers. Veneers are less invasive and should last equally as long or longer if they are done properly. There are a lot of subtleties to doing dentistry right, including proper design of the preparation, good bonding technique and most importantly a good laboratory. You are in CA - there is a great technician there named Naoiki Aiba - he is an internationally recognized top technician. Sub-par lab work will make your smile look sub-par

Veneers or Crowns for Chipped Front Teeth? (photo)

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