Oh, boy. I'm not sure how much help I will be, but here we go.
Almost a decade ago, I worked with a handful of neuromuscular dentists. They essentially fixed my TMJ issues, but are now the reason that I need surgery. When I started working with them, their plan was to put my bite in a comfortable position (not a pain position), and then...and I quote, "Crown it, bridge it, and veneer it." They wanted to utilize a combination of them, to get my bite back together, once I was in a non-pain position. I live in the Midwest, where things are fantastically less expensive, and the quote was $60,000 (plus braces, if I happened to need them for a second time).
I was visiting my regular dentist, for by biannual cleaning, and he asked how I was doing with my jaw. I told him what the others had said (and at the time, I was planning to go ahead with their treatment), and he literally shouted NO from the roof tops. He is probably the nicest, most quietly spoken, human on this planet. He is hard pressed to give his opinion. You know that saying, "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has got one." My dentist really never has offered an opinion in an area that is not directly his expertise, but he said no to this. He just kept talking about how you NEVER EVER, take down virgin teeth...EVER. He also said that dental work, like that, had a shelf life of about 8 years. Of course, it's not like everything goes at once, but he said that I should be prepared to be fixing that work (crowns, brides, veneers) until the day that I was 6 feet under. Ugh.
Long story short, is that I would look for other alternatives. I assume you are relatively young, and this will potentially be a substantial amount of upkeep for you, throughout your lifetime. If the alternatives are not better, and you need veneers and/or crowns, I would look into the thin-prep veneers (I believe they are marketed under a few different names). This would allow you to keep as much of your teeth as possible (with veneers). Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any situation with a crown that allows you to keep more of your tooth.
I would normally never recommend this, but I would look into crowns (if your only option is either crowns or veneers). I know several people with veneers, and they are always popping off. Talk about inconvenient, being at a dinner party when your tooth falls off. Heaven forbid you bite into an apple before giving a presentation at work. Even if it means removing more of your tooth, for the sake of quality of life (being able to eat w/o worrying, and being able to travel w/o being concerned that your veneers are going to go rouge), I would be leaning toward crowns.
Are you sure, these are your only options?
