Porcelain Veneers vs. Composite Veneers: Which Is Better?
All veneers are designed to fit over teeth to improve their color, shape, and overall appearance. Whether porcelain veneers or composite veneers are right for you, however, is between you and your Manhattan cosmetic dentist. The goal, with either veneer, is to create a beautiful, natural-looking smile makeover.
The Basics of Veneers
Veneers are super-thin shells customized for each patient and bonded permanently to the front of the teeth. All veneers – whether prepless, Lumineers, traditional, porcelain, or composite – are designed to conceal dental imperfections like chips, stains, cracks, gaps, overlapping teeth, and more.
While there are many dental treatments that can make these aesthetic issues disappear, the only cosmetic dentistry procedure that can eliminate all of them at one time is porcelain veneers.
All About Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are:
- Incredibly durable
- Stain resistant
- Look natural
- Last for decades with proper care
- Made in a lab
The one factor that sometimes has patients pushing pause on porcelain veneers is that healthy tooth enamel must be ground down to make room for the veneer. This step makes the porcelain veneer procedure irreversible.
Don’t despair, though. Prepless veneers and Lumineers have minimized the amount of enamel that needs to be removed from teeth, making porcelain veneers a far more attractive procedure to patients who may have once eliminated this option from their smile makeover choices.
Porcelain veneers are carefully designed and sculpted in shade, size, shape, and translucency so they look as natural as possible. This effort requires skill on the part of your Midtown dentist and the lab used to create the veneers. Once the veneers are prepared, they must be meticulously bonded to the teeth so they look completely natural and flawless.
All About Composite Veneers
Composite veneers are:
- Made of strong composite resin, like that used for tooth fillings
- Less expensive than porcelain
- Tooth-colored
- Made in the dental office
One of the biggest characteristics that separates composite veneers from porcelain veneers is that composite veneers can be sculpted directly onto the teeth during a dental visit. There is little prep work needed for composite veneers, which keeps the tooth underneath structurally sound. After layers of resin are applied to the tooth, the material is hardened and bonded in place using a special light before the veneer is sculpted, smoothed, and polished to look natural. Color matching, thickness, and contouring of the tooth takes great care and expertise. In the wrong hands, a composite veneer can be an obvious repair.
Patients who are interested in quick results at an affordable cost are often drawn to composite veneers, which can be a good choice when just one or two teeth are unsightly, like a chipped tooth, a noticeable stain, or a slight alignment issue. Composites, however, may have a shorter lifespan and wear down over time.
Get Veneers from NYC Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael J. Wei
Every patient interested in veneers should work with a Midtown cosmetic dentist who is prepared to discuss all smile makeover options. While porcelain veneers are usually considered the sophisticated, long-lasting option, composite veneers may be the right choice for a patient’s current needs because they can often be done in one dental visit.
The pros and cons of porcelain veneers and composite veneers are often subjective – every patient has their own unique goals, budget, and hopes for their smile. Ultimately, porcelain veneers cost more but last longer and take longer to complete. Composite veneers take less time and are about half the cost of composite veneers but they are susceptible to staining and won’t last as long as porcelain veneers.
Schedule your appointment with Dr. Michael J. Wei at his Madison Avenue office in Midtown to discuss all viable options for your smile makeover.
