Veneers or Crowns? What "Turkey Teeth" Means — and How to Avoid It

Veneers and crowns are not the same

A veneer is a thin shell bonded to the front surface of a tooth; it usually needs little of the tooth to be removed. A crown covers the whole tooth, which has to be filed down on all sides to make room. Crowns are the right treatment for some teeth — those that are badly damaged, for example — but they are a much bigger intervention, and the tooth structure removed doesn't grow back.

Why it matters

Reporting from Turkey has described "Hollywood smile" treatments that involved trimming, or even extracting, healthy teeth, and the British Dental Association has warned of infections and ill-fitting crowns after cut-price treatment abroad. The lesson isn't to avoid treatment abroad. It's to know exactly what will be done to each tooth, and why, before anything starts.

How we approach it

How much each tooth is prepared depends on what your teeth need — not on what's quickest. Healthy teeth are not prepared beyond what your treatment requires. Before treatment, your dentist shows you the plan for each tooth, and a digital preview of the result, so you know what will happen before it does.

Questions to ask any dental clinic

• Am I getting veneers or crowns — on which teeth, and why?
• How much of each tooth will be removed?
• Is any healthy tooth being treated only for appearance?
• What happens to the teeth underneath in ten or twenty years?