The fundamental difference between porcelain veneers and dental crowns is the amount of the tooth’s surface each respective type of dental restoration covers over.

Dental crowns typically encase an entire tooth whereas porcelain veneers only cover over the front side of a tooth.

With old technology crowns were made with a metal foundation which would create a dark blue line at the edge of many crowns. Recent breakthroughs in adhesives, combined with the development of stronger porcelain materials has allowed us to make crowns entirely out of porcelain, thus maintaining a translucency that makes them hard to tell a porcelain crown from your natural tooth.

A veneer is a thick shell of porcelain or plastic that is bonded to a tooth to improve its color and shape. A veneer generally covers only the front and top of a tooth.