Tag: crowns

Blog posts, information and advice which mention Dental crowns

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding

It’s often a dilemma knowing which to choose, crowns, veneers or bonding so we thought we would explain the differences between each in order that you can make the best decision based upon your own requirements and clinical needs.

What are the main differences between crowns, veneers and bonding?

  • Cost
  • Strength
  • Removal of tooth structure
  • Ability to change appearance of the tooth
  • Frequency of replacement

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding Cost

The cost of crowns, veneers and bonding is determined by a couple of factors:

  1. The time it takes.
  2. The cost of materials.
  3. The cost of laboratory fees.

Bonding usually takes a little less time than veneers and particularly crowns, but the biggest difference is the cost of laboratory fees. Bonding is done directly onto your tooth and therefore there is no third-party laboratory required in order to manufacture the restoration, this keeps the cost down considerably.

Bonding typically starts from between £345-£445 depending upon the complexity.

Dental veneers and crowns Usually take longer than dental bonding as the dentist needs to prepare the underlying tooth structure in a very precise way in order to receive the new dental veneer and Crown. Once the dentist had prepared the underlying tooth an impression will be taken and sent to a dental laboratory, the dental laboratory then makes the veneer or crown. This extended procedure adds to the cost.

Veneers and crowns typically start from £650 depending upon the complexity.

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding Strength

These three restorations can be ranked in order of strength.

  1. Dental bonding-lowest
  2. Dental veneers
  3. Dental crowns-highest

With any type of restoration on a tooth one needs to be aware and be sensitive to the fact that what you have is not an entirely natural tooth. Dental bonding is most prone to fracture, however because the bonding is done directly onto the tooth it is the easiest to be repaired by the dentist. If veneers or crowns fracture they will need to be removed and sent back to the laboratory for repair, sometimes repairs are not possible and a full remake is required.

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding Removal of tooth structure

Most dentists will prefer to keep as much natural tooth structure as possible, this is generally the preferred option wherever clinically justified. Removal of tooth structure is needed in order to receive the new restoration, particularly with veneers and crowns although sometimes a small amount of tooth structure is removed for dental bonding.

The three restorations can be ranked in order of the amount of tooth structure generally required to be removed.

  1. Dental bonding-lowest amount of tooth structure removed
  2. Dental veneers
  3. Dental crowns-highest amount of tooth structure removed

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding Ability to change appearance of tooth

Depending on what change of appearance is required may define which type of restoration your dentist uses.

  1. Minor chips and shape defects can be corrected with dental bonding.
  2. More major chips and shape defects plus the colour of the tooth can be corrected with dental veneers.
  3. The most severe chips, shape defects, tooth rotations and tooth wear can be corrected with dental crowns.

Crowns vs Veneers vs Bonding Frequency of replacement

The frequency of replacement will usually be determined by the following:

  • How quickly the materials used becomes worn or discoloured.
  • How well you look after the restoration, teeth and gums.
  • How careful you are when eating.
  • How well do you protect your teeth during sport.
  • Not having any accidents!

As you can see you will play an active role in maintaining the restoration and ensuring it lasts as long as possible.

Typical problems and reasons for replacement are as follows:

  • Dental bonding
    • The composite bonding material can discolour due to strong coloured foods being consumed or smoking etc
    • The restoration can chip due to excessive biting forces.
  • Dental veneers & crowns
    • The restoration can chip due to excessive biting forces.
    • The surrounding teeth change colour (either darker through age or whiter through whitening) and the dental veneer no longer matches and needs to be replaced.
    • The gum margin on the tooth recedes due to age (a natural phenomenon), this can then expose the underlying tooth which often look starker. This necessitates remaking the veneer or crown in order to cover up his newly exposed underlying tooth.

Summary

As you can see, the decision about whether to have crowns, veneers or bonding is not a simple one. It involves taking into account many factors and balancing out the risk factors in order to ensure you have the very best restoration for your budget, requirements and clinical suitability. Cosmetic dentistry such as this is very often as much an art as it is a science.

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

Time to make that change

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

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Years of bad habits and irregular visits to the dentist caused this patient’s teeth to deteriorate very quickly.  Her top teeth were very uneven and heavily discoloured.  Close friends and family always commented on how her teeth looked, which over time, caused the patient’s confidence to drop.  She would never smile openly or laugh out loudly.  Meeting new people was impossible and having photographs taken was never an option.  This had a big impact on her life.  She wanted to become the person she was, someone who was full of life and confidence.

After careful thought and planning, the best course of treatment recommended by Dr Dixit was to replace the existing crown and provide new porcelain crowns for the heavily filled and discoloured teeth. The teeth were prepared to the ideal shape for the crowns using custom-made templates to minimise drilling. A soft-tissue laser was used to painlessly recontour the gums enabling the final crowns to be of the ideal length for her face. The new colour was matched to perfection using a special hand-held shade taking device.

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The patient was over whelmed  with the results.  Friends and family could not believe how confident it had made her. She was now able to hold her head up high and smile openly and laugh loudly.

 

 

 

Who said I’m camera shy !

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

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“Please make me look nice for my daughter’s big day!”  These were the words of a loving mother who desperately wanted nice teeth for what was going to be one of the most important days of her life, her daughter’s wedding.   For most of her life,  she had lived with a smile she was very unhappy with.  Her top teeth were very uneven and discoloured.  The  old existing crowns towards the back of the mouth  had began to deteriorate, as well as a tooth which had become very stained and unsightly.   The gap in between her front  two teeth always seemed to draw attention to her not so great smile.  This  made her feel very self conscious and even embarrassed.   She would never smile in front of the camera,  and even in general conversation,  she would raise her hand to cover her mouth.  Friends and family always thought she was very quiet, but in reality, she lacked so much confidence that smiling, laughing and even talking was something she found very difficult.    She wanted a smile that would make  her  look and feel great.

With careful thought and planning, Dr Dixit achieved this transformation by using a combination of all ceramic crowns and veneers.  To make the teeth brighter , the teeth were whitened using the home whitening system.  The heavily filled teeth were protected with new crowns and the new veneers helped to improve the shape and position of the teeth.  The colour was matched exactly to the patients new teeth colour.  The crowns and veneers were made to look as natural as possible.

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The patient was very pleased with the results.   It had given her so much  confidence that she felt like a new woman.  She looked and felt amazing.  The discoloured front tooth and filling had gone and the visible black lines were no longer there.  She finally had the smile she always wanted.