Porcelain Crown? or Porcelain Veneer?
Whether they prefer porcelain crowns or porcelain veneers, the most important thing for people who want to receive these treatments is that their teeth provide a natural and aesthetic appearance that is beyond understanding. The changes should not be too glaring and should increase confidence.
It is beneficial and extremely important to know what aesthetic dentistry offers from the patient’s perspective. This article will focus on two innovative techniques and strategies.
Although they are structurally different, in most cases these two restorative techniques produce almost the same aesthetic results. Aesthetically, it is necessary to use the latest ceramic technologies in both porcelain veneers and porcelain crowns.
Crown and Veneer; Similar but Different
Dental porcelains are used to create a natural looking tooth shape for both veneers and crowns. Although they have visual features similar to natural teeth, one technique may be more suitable than the other depending on the patient’s wishes and needs. As both a healthcare professional and an artist, the dentist must consider many factors when choosing which technique will provide the best results.
Porcelain Veneers and Perfection
Porcelain veneers consist of thin ceramic layers that replace tooth enamel. Similar to a contact lens for the eye, it adheres to the outer surface of the tooth.
The natural tooth structure must first be abraded in a minimal amount of about 1 mm or less of this tooth enamel. A perfect beauty in both color and shape can be created on the abraded area, imitating the natural tooth shape.
Porcelain veneers offer an excellent solution for some aesthetic defects such as unwanted tooth color, unwanted tooth shape or contours, broken teeth, tooth position, as well as some chewing problems. It is also a great option to deal with superficial stains on teeth that are not suitable for bleaching.
Porcelain Crown Coatings
Like the crown that a king wears on his head, a crown replaces the body part of the tooth to a large extent, if not completely. The term cap is used synonymously with crown. A crown completely replaces the outer part of the tooth up to the gum level.
Whatever remains of the inner core of the tooth, “crowning” a tooth reproduces the natural shape and function (contact with other teeth) of the tooth. Regenerating a large part of the tooth structure, whether due to tooth decay or the damage of a trauma, is part of the crown design.
Crowning teeth can also create noticeable improvements for patients whose teeth are worn out due to bruxism (clenching and grinding) habit or tooth enamel erosion.
Like veneers, crowns are ideal for changing tooth color and shape; in some cases they can make this change easier. Porcelain crowns are often required when more tooth structure has been lost and therefore more material is required to replace it. On the contrary, if more tooth structure needs to be removed (due to deeper staining) and / or strengthened, the crown stands out as the more preferred application. For posterior teeth that receive more bite force, high-tech durable zirconium crowns can be a good alternative.
For crowns to be used in front teeth, full ceramic crowns can be preferred because they are one level closer to the natural color and light transmittance of the tooth.
Porcelain Crown and Porcelen Veneers; Includes difference in the amount of teeth to be abraded
The main difference between a porcelain veneer and a crown is that the amount of abrasion on the tooth is different. Generally speaking, more porcelain thickness is required for a crown. To insert porcelain veneers, a tooth structure thickness of at least 2 millimeters (mm) is required.
For these two different applications, porcelain itself, a glass-like ceramic material, required modification for reinforcement, especially when used on posterior teeth subjected to stronger bite force.
Ensuring the adhesion of the coatings
Fixing (gluing) crowns on teeth with porcelain veneers can be similar. Both are embedded with a light sensitive resin and solidified using a blue or ultraviolet light source. Ultra-thin porcelain veneers show their optimal strength by adhering to the underlying tooth enamel. In addition, the total retention of “full-ceramic” crowns increases when they are attached to the enamel instead of the dentin layer.
Smile Design
Generally, diagnostic evaluation is critical as well as a thorough evaluation before any procedure. These optional procedures not only provide appropriate aesthetic and functional possibilities, but also allow individuals to evaluate the final result before any permanent change. Just as we want to look at the car before buying a car, this protective approach will increase your comfort both in the process and in the result by including you in the decision-making process.
Making a Model (Mock-Up)
Being able to see the result before the procedure starts is a tool specific to dentistry. Whether it is to improve the appearance of an anterior tooth or an anterior tooth group, it is important to create a model after a comprehensive dental examination. Mock-up; It is a model preparation process that shows the exact same procedure in the mouth.
What is the Diagnostic Model?
You can go to your dentist with one or more problems. Some examples of these include tooth decay, spaced teeth, edge and corner breaks, stains and discoloration, rotated teeth, or uneven gum lines that spoil the appearance of your smile.
Building a model is creating a “test smile”; This actually gives you the excitement of being a part of your own smile transformation. This simple procedure allows your dentists to apply tooth-colored filling materials to temporarily improve the shape and shape of the teeth, close the gaps between the teeth, or create the ideal balance between the gum line and teeth.
In contrast, it allows you to experiment with newly created tooth shapes while the lips are free and in a full smile. This also gives you and those around you time to decide whether you like your new look or not.
After photographing your dental appearance before and after the “model”, your dentist can easily remove tooth-colored materials and return the teeth to their original state.
At your next dentist visit, you can view and compare photos of these transformational changes. By actively participating in your own treatment, discussing and evaluating proposed changes, you can offer further recommendations and possible improvements.
Ultimately, everything is up to you, so by having this knowledge and awareness, you should want the best for yourself.
More about preferences – Shades of Gray
Various factors determine the decision-making process for porcelain veneers or porcelain crown placement. For example, your dentist may say that the conditions require porcelain veneers made thicker than normal to cover a larger percentage of the tooth in order for a tooth to be in line with neighboring or adjacent teeth.
In addition, more tooth preparation may be required to achieve the desired effect on a severely stained tooth. In other cases, for example, when more than just the face of the tooth requires improvement, some sort of middle ground can be drawn between the veneer and the crown. In fact, porcelain veneer restorations are preferred where the entire surface of the tooth is covered.
What Can Crowns and Veneers Not Do?
These techniques cannot fully correct poor tooth position, poor bite relationships, or a poor profile. However, they can fix minor alignment issues depending on the individual case. In most cases, first of all, some orthodontic treatments (braces) may be required both functionally and aesthetically to bring the teeth to the proper position.
Ceramic restorations can be an excellent restorative solution, but as with many other techniques, they have both advantages and disadvantages.
Porcelain Veneers Transmit Light
A skilled ceramic artist can make impressive dental imitations from dental porcelain that mimic tooth enamel. The properties associated with porcelain are glass-like whiteness and translucency, which are particularly important optically and visually. Thanks to these nuances, light transmission and/or diffusion and therefore a realistic appearance is provided.
Porcelain is a form of inorganic and non-metallic ceramic material created from the movement of heat. Dental porcelain can be made in different colors and shades; They are manufactured in powder form to match the primary colors of the basic tooth structure. These products are mixed with water and placed in a furnace for “firing / firing”, where they gain a ceramic structure. Porcelains are created in layers to mimic the tone and contours and natural translucency of tooth enamel.
New Ceramic Materials
In the past, problems with porcelain restorations have been in those with high densities of glass particles. They are brittle / brittle and have low tensile strength and, like glass, have a high tendency to break. One of the ways to tackle this is like a porcelain-plated gold casting? It was to include a core or substructure made of metal. Unfortunately, when strengthening the crown, metal tends to move away from the glass-like translucency and realistic appearance of porcelain – which is not desirable for anterior teeth, although this is not such a problem for posterior teeth.
Recently, the newest class of all-ceramic crowns uses an internal ceramic “core” made of “Zirconia” that adds aesthetic beauty and durability. This polycrystalline ceramic core is the same substance that forms the basic structure of fake diamonds.
CAD-CAM (Computer Aided Design – Computer Aided Manufacturing) technology is a dental innovation that provides exceptional fit and contour accuracy to crown restorations.
Using a special wand / rod / wand to scan a replacement tooth for a new crown, information is sent from a computer to a milling machine to ensure the exact match of the crown’s “ceramic core”. The porcelain is then baked on top of this core to imitate the tooth shape and color and give it its usual gloss and translucency.
The result of this computer-aided system is a reinforced core cigar, permanently cemented to the remaining natural tooth.
Secrets to Success – Porcelain Veneers or Porcelain Crowns?
In many cases, porcelain veneers and porcelain crowns can give satisfactory and ideal results, but the structural features of these two dental restorations are different. The secret to a successful result is knowing what to use and when to use it. This is in the field of dentists with their knowledge, skills and experience.
Whichever of the porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns are used to make your smile better, the important thing is that your teeth just look great without you knowing that they have been treated.
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