Teeth Whitening vs. Veneers: Which Cosmetic Treatment Is Right for You?

Having a confident, bright smile is something that everyone aspires to improve, and with modern advancements in cosmetic dentistry, improving your smile is easier than ever. One of the two most popular cosmetic dentistry treatments for improving the appearance of your smile is Teeth Whitening and Veneers. Although both these products can provide amazing results and a radically improved visual appearance to your teeth, both serve entirely different purposes and accomplish this through very different methods of enhancement. To help you decide which cosmetic enhancement procedure best suits you, we created this guide outlining the differences and advantages of both Teeth Whitening and Veneers, as well as identifying which individuals would be ideal candidates for both cosmetic enhancement options.

Information About Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening, also referred to as teeth bleaching, is a non-invasive dental procedure that lightens the natural color of your teeth. The focus of teeth whitening is to reduce the effects of stain and discolored teeth from everyday habits like coffee, tea, wine, smoking, or simply from the natural aging process.

Advantages of Teeth Whitening

• Speed & Convenience: When performed in the dental office, teeth whitening typically takes less than 1 hour to complete.

• Non-invasive: Teeth whitening does NOT involve drilling of your teeth or removing of the enamel.

• Less expensive: The cost of Teeth Whitening compared to Veneers is usually less expensive.

• Natural Enhancements: Teeth Whitening results in a significantly brighter natural tooth color; no changes are made to the actual size or shape of your teeth.

What Are Veneers?

Veneers consist of thin shells that fit over your teeth and change all of the visible characteristics (color, shape, alignment, size) of an individual’s “smile” as opposed to whitening which only alters the color of the teeth. The application of porcelain or composite resin can be used as an enhancement on your natural teeth by hiding faults (chipped edges, gaps, heavily discolored areas or slightly crooked teeth) that cannot be treated through whitening processes.

Benefits of Veneers

• Quick Smile Enhancement: You can transform your smile into a brighter, straighter, and uniformed appearance within just 2 dental visits.

• Long-lasting Results: Porcelain-based veneer systems have the potential to last for 10-15 years with proper maintenance of the product.

• Stain Resistant: The porosity of porcelain or composite resin is smaller than that of normal human enamel therefore they will be less prone to staining thus allowing for the brightest possible smile for many years.

• Individualized Product: Veneer shapes and colors can be designed specifically for your facial characteristics and desired appearance.

Teeth Whitening vs. Veneers – Which One Should You Select?

Both of these options can improve the appearance of your smile, but the type of treatment selected will depend on the goals of the patient, the costs involved and the condition of the actual teeth being treated.

Select Teeth Whitening If You Want…

• A quick fix for your smile with little cost

• To retain the natural look of your smile, using your existing teeth

• To have a reversible, non-invasive treatment

• To reduce mild to moderate staining of the teeth.

Select Veneers If Your Objective Is To..

• Transform Your Smile Entirely

• Repair Chips, Cracks, Spaces and/or Severely Stained Teeth

• Find a Long Lasting and Durable Cosmetic Solution

• Have a Set of Well-Proportioned Uniform Teeth

Conclusion

If your primary concern is yellowing, teeth whitening can provide a bright and fresh look with little time and effort involved. If you want to achieve a perfect or picture-perfect smile and/or correct multiple cosmetic issues at once, tooth veneers will give you greater and longer lasting results.