Here’s a number you won’t find on most dental websites: on our founding fee schedule, a porcelain veneer costs $1,250 per tooth — and a ceramic crown costs $1,250 per tooth. Identical.
That’s worth knowing up front, because when both options cost the same, the sales pressure evaporates and the question becomes purely clinical: how much healthy tooth structure are you starting with? That single question decides veneer-vs-crown far more often than budget, brand, or preference.
What a veneer is (and what it isn’t)
A porcelain veneer is a thin ceramic facing — roughly the thickness of a fingernail — bonded to the front surface of a tooth. To make room for it, a small amount of enamel is reshaped, which is why the decision deserves care: it’s a commitment, not a coat of paint.
Veneers are a cosmetic instrument. They change color that whitening can’t fix, close small gaps, square off worn or uneven edges, and mask surface flaws. What they don’t do is reinforce anything. A veneer relies on a sound tooth underneath; bond one to a cracked or heavily filled tooth and you’ve decorated a problem instead of solving it.
On our schedule: porcelain veneer $1,250 per tooth ($1,050 for members); a composite veneer, sculpted directly in resin, runs $650 ($550 for members) — less durable as a rule, but repairable in one visit and a legitimate way to test-drive a new smile shape.
What a crown is
A crown wraps the entire tooth, all the way around, down to the gumline. It’s structural equipment: the standard answer after a root canal, for a tooth with a large aging filling, or where cracks make biting a gamble. Because it covers everything, more of the tooth is reshaped to receive it.
Our pricing: ceramic crown $1,250 ($999 member), porcelain-fused-to-metal $1,195 ($956), and — where decay or old fillings have left too little tooth to grip — a core buildup at $295 ($236). One fee covers the crown itself, the temporary you wear meanwhile, and the fitting. You’ll see the full quote in writing before anything is touched; that’s how the whole fee schedule works.
The one question that decides it
Where does the problem live?
- On the surface — color, shape, minor chips, small gaps — and the tooth is otherwise healthy: veneer territory. Read more on the veneers page.
- Inside the structure — a root canal in its history, fracture lines, a filling that occupies half the tooth, recurring decay: crown territory. Details on the crowns page.
Putting a veneer on a structurally weak tooth invites failure. Putting a crown on a healthy tooth sacrifices good enamel for no reason. A dentist who preserves tooth structure will steer you to the smallest restoration that does the job — and sometimes that’s neither of these. A chipped corner on a front tooth can often be handled with simple bonding, which on our schedule is a $175 front-tooth filling. Always worth asking about before anyone says “porcelain.”
Can a veneer fix a broken tooth?
It depends on how much is missing. A small chip on the biting edge of an otherwise solid front tooth — frequently yes, and bonding may do it for a fraction of the price. If a large piece has broken away, if the crack runs toward the gumline, or if the tooth has already been through a root canal, a veneer has nothing solid to hold onto and a crown becomes the honest recommendation.
Which lasts longer?
Both, well made and well cared for, are typically discussed in the 10-to-15-year range — and nobody can promise you a lifespan, so treat any office that guarantees one with suspicion. The biggest threat to both is the same: night grinding. If you clench or grind, a night guard is part of the plan, not an upsell. Composite veneers wear faster than porcelain but repair cheaply, which is exactly the trade their lower price reflects.
Which looks more natural?
Modern ceramics make both excellent. Veneers have a slight edge on front teeth because their thinness lets light pass the way enamel does. For a single tooth among natural neighbors, the skill of the shade match matters far more than which restoration you chose.
Whiten first — porcelain doesn’t change color
This is the sequencing mistake that costs people real money. Porcelain is color-locked the day it’s made. Whitening afterward lightens your natural teeth and leaves the ceramic behind, creating exactly the mismatch you paid to avoid. So the order is always: whiten to the shade you want, then match the porcelain to it.
It also raises a cheaper question: is color the only thing bothering you? Our Smile Preview tool lets you see a whitened version of your own smile right in your browser — the photo never leaves your phone. If the preview solves it, in-office whitening is $395 and no drill is involved. That’s a much smaller decision than $1,250 a tooth.
The multi-tooth math
Veneers rarely travel alone — most smile designs involve four to eight teeth. At $1,250 each, a six-veneer case is $7,500. At the $1,050 member price it’s $6,300. That $1,200 difference is more than two years of membership at the standard $39/month rate, before counting the cleanings, exams, X-rays, and per-visit whitening touch-ups the plan already includes. If porcelain is anywhere in your future, joining first is simply the correct order of operations.
The deeper price anatomy for each lives on the veneer cost page and the crown cost page.
The bottom line
Veneer for looks on a healthy tooth. Crown for strength on a compromised one. Bonding or whitening when either would be overkill — and a practice that publishes every one of those prices has no incentive to sell you the bigger fix.
We open in September 2026 in the Ponte Vedra–Nocatee corridor, and every number in this article comes from the founding fee schedule that’s already public. The first 500 members lock $29/month for life — with member pricing on every veneer and crown above. Reserve your founding spot while the counter still has room.