Factors to consider when choosing between dental bonding or porcelain veneers.

1) The cosmetic end result achieved with a porcelain veneer will often appear more natural than a veneer made using dental bonding.

Porcelain has a glass-like translucency that closely mimics the light handling characteristics of tooth enamel. In comparison dental composite, the restorative used with cosmetic tooth bonding, is more opaque and therefore doesn't mimic the luster of tooth enamel quite as readily.

The optical properties of natural teeth:

One of the properties of tooth enamel is that it is translucent. When light strikes a tooth it penetrates into and through the tooth's enamel surface and is then reflected off the tooth layer (tooth dentin) that lies below. This phenomenon of light penetrating into and then being reflected back out of a tooth's enamel layer is what gives a tooth its luster. It is also what gives a tooth its specific coloration. A tooth's shade is a function of the combined effect of the color of the tooth's enamel as well as its dentin (the layer that the light has been reflected off of).

The optical properties of porcelain veneers:

Just like tooth enamel, porcelain veneers are translucent. Light will pass into and through a porcelain veneer, however the first opaque layer that the light will encounter (and therefore be reflected off of) is the cement with which the veneer has been cemented. The overall appearance of the tooth will therefore be derived from a combination of the luster generated by the porcelain's translucency and the combined color of the veneer and its cement.

The optical properties of cosmetic tooth bonding:

The tooth bonding material (dental composite) used to create composite veneers is typically much more opaque than either tooth enamel or porcelain. And as a result the light handling characteristics of a bonded veneer are different.

For the most part the light that strikes a veneered tooth is reflected off the front surface of the dental composite. No real luster is generated because there is no great degree of light penetration (translucency) into the composite veneer. Most of the tooth's color is derived directly from the color of the cosmetic bonding that has been placed.

2) Porcelain veneers will resist staining better than cosmetic bonding.

Since porcelain is a ceramic (an impervious glass-like substance) a porcelain veneer will resist staining extremely well. In comparison, the material lying at the core of tooth bonding (dental composite) is a plastic and this plastic can (and usually will) discolor over time.

There is one aspect of a porcelain veneer that isn't so stain resistant and that is the cement that has been used to bond the veneer into place. This cement layer lies sandwiched in between the veneer and the tooth. The portion of this cement layer that is exposed around the edges of the porcelain veneer has the potential to accumulate stain over time.

Dentists usually try to hide the edges of porcelain veneers so they do not show when a person smiles, but if an edge is visible (or possibly becomes visible due to gum recession) this cement layer will be visible too. If pronounced discoloration of the cement has occurred, then the cosmetic appearance of the veneer will be spoiled.

3) Porcelain veneers are strong but brittle.

It is the nature of porcelain that it can be brittle. If a porcelain veneer is used in an application where it is subject to excessive forces (like in the mouth of a person who grinds their teeth) the veneer will be prone to fracture. If a porcelain veneer does break it cannot be repaired, instead it must be remade.

4) Creating a porcelain veneer for a tooth requires more dental appointments than placing cosmetic tooth bonding.

It will take a dentist two appointments, typically scheduled some days or weeks apart, to place a porcelain veneer. In comparison when a dentist uses cosmetic tooth bonding to create a composite veneer only one appointment is needed.

1) Dental veneers made using cosmetic bonding (dental composite) usually cost less than porcelain veneers.

Cosmetic dental bonding will usually cost less than a porcelain veneer. Dental composite veneers are placed in just one visit whereas porcelain veneers require two appointments (and therefore likely more of the dentist's time). When making porcelain veneers a dentist will incur a bill from the laboratory technician who has made the veneer, whereas with tooth bonding it is the dentist who creates the veneer.

2) Dental composite veneers can be repaired if they break.

Unlike porcelain veneers, if a dental composite veneer does chip or break a dentist can usually repair it. And in most cases they can probably make the repair by just patching the dental bonding in that portion of the veneer where the fracture has occurred, as opposed to replacing the entire veneer.

Although repair is easier with dental composite veneers, their need for maintenance might be greater than with porcelain veneers. Lying at the core of dental composite composition is a plastic. And although manufactures do add components to their composites that significantly enhance their wear resistance, wear still does occur. A person may notice that over time the outline shape of their composite veneer has changed (especially on its biting edge) due to wear. In comparison porcelain is relatively more wear resistant, and therefore one would expect a porcelain veneer to hold its original outline form better over the long term.

3) Dental bonding will typically stain over time.

Composite veneers have a tendency to stain. The entire veneer may become discolored or else just portions of it. At times it might be possible that a dentist can polish the surface of the veneer so to reinstate its original appearance. In other instances the dentist may feel they need to reduce the entire face of the veneer and then resurface it with a new layer of tooth bonding. The occurrence of staining is often associated with the use of coffee, tea, cola, and tobacco products.