Dental Veneers

What are Dental Veneers?

Veneers are used to make the greatest smile transformation. They make it possible to convert twisted, marked, damaged or horrible teeth into bright new  smiles.

Dental Veneers or ‘laminates’ are wafer-thin covers of tooth-coloured ultra strong ceramic. They are “bonded” to the top side exterior of the teeth to increase their overall look.

When are dental veneers used?

  1. Tooth Staining – Poorly marked teeth that cannot be enhanced by lightening or expert cleaning can be enhanced with dental veneers.
  2. Damaged Teeth – Teeth that have become damaged over the years through neglect or that have been broken in an accident can quickly be fixed with a veneer that has the same features and color as your natural teeth.
  3. Gaps in teeth – areas between your teeth can quickly be closed using dental veneers avoiding those horrible black triangles and making your smile look straighter again. Veneers can close gaps in teeth faster than orthodontics.
  4. Crooked teeth– Totally replacing the front surface of your tooth with a veneer is not always the perfect strategy as your dentist would often rather retain your natural enamel, For this reason orthodontics is often preferred. However, tooth braces can take a long while so veneers can sometimes be used to expedite the process. For teeth that are not seriously twisted, veneers placed over their front side will provide an immediate and completely aligned-looking smile.
  5. Severe Acid Erosion – Severe acid erosion caused by acid reflux from the stomach can often damaged teeth beyond recognition. Veneers can be a quick and simple remedy.

What are the different kinds of Veneer?

Porcelain Veneer

Porcelain veneers are made from high-strength dental ceramic, often this is a quartz compound (similar in structure to granite) but nowadays lithium disilicate is also often use as it has more natural fluorescent properties.

Composite Veneer

Often called an Instant Veneer, composite veneers are bonded directly in the mouth by the dentist using a tooth coloured composite resin.

Fitting of dental veneers

How are dental veneers fitted?

1. The first aspect of any dental process is the preliminary consultation and evaluation, so that your dentist can understand your dental aspirations. Your dentist will describe the process to help provide you a precise idea to the likely cost of your dental veneers.
2. Before your veneers are made, your dentist will need to prepare and get ready the outside surface of your tooth.
3. A mould (impression) of your teeth is taken and sent to the dental technician for manufacture. They will then use this as a information to help them make your new veneer. This can usually take them around two weeks.
4. While you wait for your veneers to be created, your dentist will often fit you with some short-term veneers to make sure you look great.
5. On your next consultation, your dentist will fit your new veneers, after trying them in to ensure they look and feel great.

How will I know what I will look like afterwards?

Most dentists do this with what they call a ‘Provisional Smile’.

This is a finished concept or mock up of your new smile that they will generate for you on a duplicate of your teeth. This concept can be customized until you are totally happy that the outcome will be excellent. The dentist is then able to replicate this concept or mock up to your own final set of dental veneers.

This then provides you with the ablity to see how you will look and choose whether you wish to go ahead with the treatment.

This is a important phase in the process and is one of the elements that places a great cosmetic dentist apart from other dental practitioners in the place.

How long do Dental Veneers last?

Porcelain veneers will generally last between five and ten years, while instant veneers last much less time than this.

To make your veneers last the longest amount of time, adhere to an excellent oral hygiene system and attend your dentist for check-ups regularly.

The cost of dental veneers

This can be anywhere from around £300 per tooth from a private dentist, please ask your dentist for a full price before starting treatment.

Dental veneers pros and cons

Pros

  • Relatively quick (approximately 3 weeks from start to finish).
  • Able to change the shape, contour and colour of your teeth.
  • Can completely transform and revolutionise your smile with a smile design  makeover.

Cons

  • They often require a small amount of your natural tooth structure to be removed, this is irreversible.
  • Dental injections are often required during preparation and fitting.
  • Some veneers can be likely to fracture.
  • They may need to be replaced at some point in the future.
  • The treatment is irreversible.

Dental veneers alternatives

There are many alternatives to dental veneers, it depends upon what the treatment outcome is as to what the alternative is. Alternatives are as follows:

  • Dental veneers to  straighten crooked teeth – alternatives include:
    • Dental crowns
    • Orthodontics
  • Dental veneers to whiten dark teeth – alternatives include:
    • Dental crowns in extreme cases
    • Teeth whitening

Dental veneers online

Are dental veneers available online?… Unbelievably, yes, in some instances dental veneers are being made without consulting a dentist. The problem with trying to buy dental veneers online is that you have no way of knowing if your underlying teeth or indeed your gums are healthy enough to accept the veneers. Even removable dental veneers which are only worn for cosmetic reasons and for short periods of time can aggravate the gums. If this gum aggravation happens too often the gums can recede leading to dental disease.