How much tooth structure does a veneer remove compared with a crown?

What the drawing is measured from

1. Preparation depths come from a study that measured how much of the bonding surface is still enamel afterwards. On a maxillary central incisor, 0.3 / 0.5 / 0.7 mm at the cervical, middle and incisal thirds keeps 100 per cent of the bonding surface in enamel; 0.6 / 0.8 / 1.0 mm keeps 24.4 per cent; and 0.7 / 0.9 / 1.1 mm keeps none. Gao et al. 2022, Operative Dentistry, PMID 35029681. PubMed
2. Where the bond sits changes what happens later. Across 580 porcelain laminate veneers in 66 patients followed for up to 12 years, veneers whose preparation stayed within enamel survived at about 99 per cent, while bonding to exposed dentine raised the failure rate roughly tenfold. Gurel et al. 2013, International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry, PMID 23342345. PubMed
3. The crown panel is drawn to the Edelhoff and Sorensen F2 design, 1.0 mm axial reduction with a rounded shoulder, at 1.5 mm incisal clearance, which is the conservative end of the 1.5 to 2.0 mm range, and with a two-plane facial reduction as it is actually taught. Drawing it at its least invasive keeps the comparison fair. PMID 12070513. PubMed
4. Crowning a living tooth carries a later cost that is easy to leave unsaid. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 studies reported pulp success between 92 and 98 per cent across follow-up from 5 to 20 years, so roughly 2 to 8 in every 100 crowned vital teeth later need root canal treatment. Kohli et al. 2021, Journal of Prosthodontics. DOI
5. Three different measures appear in discussions of this comparison and they must never be mixed. Edelhoff and Sorensen weighed whole crowns, Gao reported a share of the prepared surface, and the percentages here are areas measured off one midline section of this drawing. Which restoration suits a given tooth is a clinical judgement made case by case.