Porcelain Veneers Shine Your Smile
Porcelain veneers are used to improve the position, shape, colour and size of your teeth. They are used to fix teeth which are small, discoloured, damaged or misplaced, then can even close gaps between teeth.
Veneers can be used when tooth straightening is not desired or practical. Veneers can fix for minor misalignment to achieve a perfect smile without braces or Invisalign.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain and ceramic veneers are thin, contact lens like, layers of porcelain which are glued onto the front surface of the tooth to improve it’s shape, size, colour and position. They are hand made by talented dental ceramists in a dental laboratory and fitted by the dentist.
Veneers are ideal for:
Improving tooth colour and brightness
Masking discoloured tooth structure from previous damage or disease
Improving the position of the tooth ; closing gaps, correcting misalignment
Improving the size of the tooth; building up worn teeth, lengthening shorter teeth
Enhancing the shape of the tooth; creating squarer profile, closing black spaces between teeth, improving symmetry and improving smile width
Why Porcelain over Composite Veneers?
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Whilst composite veneers offer an excellent aesthetic result, porcelain veneers are hand crafted by talented dental ceramists using a multitude of colour, tints and tooth colour shades to replicate a human tooth. Porcelain offers identical optical properties to the natural dental tooth, giving unmatched aesthetics.
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With modern advances, Porcelain veneers are made from more robust and durable ceramics making them stronger and more resistant to damage. These offer higher mechanical strength properties than composite veneers. Average lifespan can be on average 10 years, double than of a composite veneer.
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Ceramic veneers have an ultra smooth outer layer meaning stain build up is far less common than composite. Long term, these require less repair, replacement and visits to the dentist.
Porcelain veneer is a shell that is used to cover our natural teeth with dental cement. It is an alternative of tooth bonding, where a smaller amount of enamel is removed. It is used to correct the small imperfections of our teeth. It is considered a cosmetic solution as it makes your smile beautiful and picture-perfect. It is a very popular dentistry among celebrities.
What are Veneers?
Veneers mean something to cover for decoration. The dental veneers do the same for teeth, they cover our real teeth with artificial shells and make them beautiful. Veneers are artificially custom-made and used for slight discoloration and small misalignment correction. There are many types of veneers, like- Porcelain Veneers, and ceramic veneers.
Porcelain Veneers and Ceramic Veneers: which one to choose?
Both porcelain and ceramic veneers are dental veneers but are used by patients according to their needs. Porcelain Veneers are more durable (10 to 20 years) and strong. It needs less enamel removal than ceramic ones and treatment needs more time. That’s why it is an expensive one.
Whereas ceramic veneers are less durable, comparatively cheap, and quicker to get done. It is more popular for its affordable cost and less time of treatment. But people who want durable and strong veneers for the long run, choose porcelain.
In comparison, ceramic costs less initially but will get stained easily and is not as durable as porcelain.
Procedure of Dental Veneers
Consultation:
The first step is to find a dentist and fix an appointment. Mainly that appointment is for consultation about the problems. Dentists identified the problem and advised different solutions to the patients. They both agreed on one solution. One can find an online appointment and offline hospitals also. It is important to find an expert for perfect results.
Teeth Prepped for Veneers:
In the Second step, the dentist measures real teeth to make an artificial one. The teeth are prepped for the shell attachment. Teeth Prepped for Veneers is a process where a patient’s teeth are slightly trimmed or shaved and sometimes drilling is required to change the shape of the teeth if needed. Significant drilling is not necessary for everyone. A small amount of enamel is removed from the teeth. All desired expectations are noted and pictures and sizes are sent to the Lab. The artificial shells are made in a lab and take 1 to 2 weeks. Those custom-made shells are made for individuals according to their size.
Set and adjustment:
In the third step, The shells are attached to the real teeth with dental cement and set with a laser light. Then it is again checked for perfect adjustment and alignment. If there are any changes needed, like- color or shape, the dentist will work on that until the patient’s satisfaction.
Teeth Bonding Vs Veneers
Teeth bonding is for minor changes applied on the small portion of the teeth for cosmetic purposes, whereas veneers change the entire tooth surface to bring major changes. Veneers cost more than bonding and also last longer. Each procedure has its procedure and importance.
Choose an Expert!
There are many online and physical dental care hospitals all over the UK, giving the services of different types of veneers. Choose wisely your dentist, because our teeth are one of the most precious and important body parts. From a good look to a good life, we need both beautiful and healthy teeth. Proper treatment and care can improve our look and ensure durable healthy teeth.
Treatment Steps
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Every patient will have a full dental examination, x-rays, gum health check, shade analysis and smile assessment. A list of options will be presented with benefits and risks, costs, timescales and treatment sequence.
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A ‘trial smile’ mock up is conducted to show you how your new smile will suit you. This means you can see your new teeth before starting the treatment. A trial smile is a pain free, simple and quick method of showing you how your teeth will look in your mouth.
Watch me conduct a Trial Smile LIVE
Following approval of your trial smile, the teeth are prepared for the new veneers. Preparation can range from no tooth removal to minor tooth reduction. This process is pain free. A temporary set of teeth are then made, these are shaped like the the final smile but are not ceramic, these are used until the final teeth are made.
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After the talented dental ceramists have hand crafted your new teeth, the final visit it to fit these new veneers to give you you’re new smile
Benefits
Veneers allow an efficient and guaranteed method of brightening tooth colour and correcting any minor imperfections in tooth shape and position.
Minor tooth position issues can be masked with porcelain veneers when Invisalign or braces are not desired or impractical for you.
Deep discolourations of the tooth due to disease or damage can be masked more effectively with ceramic than whitening alone or composite veneers.
Damaged enamel can be restored with porcelain, here the veneers can improve the overall shape, size and appearance of your smile.
Can I Have Porcelain Veneers ?
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Position Issues
Zoe came to me as her previous veneers had broken and she wanted to achieve a straighter smile without braces or invisalign. We replaced the two central broken 360 veneers and placed two non-preparation veneers on her upper laterals to align her smile.
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Colour Issues
Dan came to see me to fix the broken teeth and to gain a wow factor smile. Using eight minimal preparation veneers we closed the spaces, fixed the chips and brighten the smile. We decided on a bleached shade of veneer for the final smile.
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Shape Issues
Dawn wanted to close the black spaces and fix this chips she had with her teeth. The spaces she had were due to her triangular shaped teeth. We closed the gaps and restored the fractures with eight ceramic veneers.
Teeth Before Veneers
Teeth before the veneers are with minimum dental problems, mainly for imperfect teeth, the veneer treatment is used. Veneers are used for the teeth with-
Stain,
Slightly misaligned and misshaped,
Cracked or broken,
A small gap between teeth,
Finally, to look beautiful and perfect with all the same size and bright-colored teeth is the goal. Veneers make sure to have a beautiful and perfect smile.
View Smile Gallery
FAQs
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Veneer preparation is non painful. In many cases there is no/ little tooth preparation. If preparation is needed usually this is limited to the very outer layer of the tooth, which means no anaesthetic is needed. For more complex cases, with more misalignment anaesthetic can be offered to ensure no sensitivity is caused throughout your visit.
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There is no official recommendation, however a good starting point is assessing your teeth by smiling in the mirror.
Begin by saying the letter ‘E’ this will help you see how many teeth you see on smiling. Usually to get the best aesthetic results most patients opt for 6-10 upper teeth. This creates a broader, uniform and more symmetrical smile.
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Composite veneers offer an initial lower cost, minimally invasive, treatment option which is ideal for correcting small changes in tooth shape, size and symmetry. Composites do have more upkeep and need maintenance. The longevity of composite is 3-7 years versus porcelain at 10 -15 years.
Porcelain (ceramic) veneers are hand made by talented dental lab technicians and are glued onto the natural tooth structure to improve the overall appearance.
These ultra thin, contact lens like, veneers are shaped to fit onto the front surface of your teeth. They usually, but not always, require some smoothing and reduction of the natural tooth structure to create room for them to be glued onto the tooth. Porcelain is recommended when there are larger cosmetic defects such as deep discolouration, large changes to tooth shape and size, previously placed composite bonding which maybe looking tired. Porcelain tends to offer the most superior result due to its added longevity and unrivalled aesthetics. They are more costly than composite bonding and require additional visits. Having composite bonding first does not prevent porcelain in the future.
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Most patients undertake tooth whitening prior to having veneers. This works to lift the natural tooth colour and brighten the smile. This reduces the need to bulk out the veneer to mask a darker underlying tooth.
Veneers can be made to match the newly whitened tooth or made in a brighter bleach shade colour.
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Good home care and professional hygiene visits are necessary for long term success. Regular professional hygiene visits for cleaning and stain removal combined with excellent oral hygiene home care is recommended. A protective mouthguard maybe given to help minimise damage to the newly fitted teeth.
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Good home care and professional hygiene visits are necessary for long term success. Regular professional hygiene visits for cleaning and stain removal combined with excellent oral hygiene home care is recommended. A protective mouthguard maybe given to help minimise damage to the newly fitted teeth.
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The new veneer is glued onto the tooth surface. The prepared surface is protected by the new porcelain veneer and with excellent cleaning the tooth underneath will remain free from any damage whilst the veneer covers it.
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Whitening can help to remove staining that may build up around the veneer margin. The veneer itself does not change colour.
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Whitening can help to remove staining that may build up around the veneer margin. The veneer itself does not change colour.
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With the best care, your porcelain may last a lifetime. But it is tough to maintain that. With time it may lose its shine and may loosen its bond with teeth. But the best thing is that it can be fixed easily by the dentist. Porcelain veneers may last 10 to 20 years easily with proper care
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Porcelain is done over the real teeth and it can't be undone or reversed. It can be redone again but can’t reverse the process. Once you have done it, you cannot get back your real teeth, It is permanent.
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Yes, it is slightly different from dental veneers. Laminates are used for a better dental look and to beautify your smile. Both are the same procedure with core two differences. Tooth Laminate Veneer is much thinner than dental veneer and it needs less amount of enamel removal from the teeth
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No, ceramic veneers and porcelain veneers, both elements are not harmful to real teeth. These require less enamel removal than crowns.