Types of Veneers
There are five types of veneers available on the market today:
1. Porcelain
2. Composite
3. Palatal
4. Lumineers
5. Non-permanent veneers
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers, also known as traditional veneers, started as a temporary fix to improve the smiles of actors in the 1930s. These veneers are thin ceramic shells which get bonded to the front side of your teeth. This method has since become a popular and permanent solution to undesired smiles. Porcelain veneers will last for at least ten years. With the right dentist and dental care maintenance, they can last for over 20 years.
When having porcelain veneers applied, our dentists will take an impression of your teeth to ensure your custom veneers fit perfectly to your existing structure. Typically they will also apply temporary veneers during this appointment as well, to be replaced with your new porcelain veneers during your next dentist visit. The dentist will grind, buff, or use other practices to prepare your teeth for the porcelain application. Once the veneers are applied you will leave with a beautiful smile you can’t wait to show off.
There is a downside to porcelain veneers, as some applications will require numbing shots or anesthesia to reduce pain during treatment. Though these are the strongest veneers, they are more difficult to repair if something chips them. Your teeth below the veneers will also be irreversibly reshaped during application, this is of course covered by your pristine veneers.
The porcelain veneers applied by our Madison cosmetic dentist only involves a slight buffing of the teeth being fixed, and requires little to no anesthesia.
Lumineers
Lumineers are the thinnest and strongest dental veneer, about as thick as a contact lens. Applying Lumineers does not require grinding and is pain-free for the patient. It takes about two dentist visits to apply Lumineers. They will last for over 20 years and are completely reversible if desired.
Common complaints about Lumineers include:
- Veneer detaching shortly after the treatment
- Translucency showing a dark tooth beneath instead of being pearly white
- Patients thinking the veneer is not thick enough
Composite Veneers
Composite veneers, also known as bonded veneers, are a cheaper and less destructive way to improve your smile. They can be applied in one visit to TCD dentists. Bonded veneers last around five to ten years and create a perfect smile with composite material covering your front teeth. These veneers are polished and smoothed to achieve the look of normal teeth. Composite veneers will help you achieve your dream smile, but are more prone to chipping and staining than porcelain veneers. Though this is a large disadvantage in a way, bonded veneers can be easily repaired. Total Care Dental provides superior cosmetic dentistry services and has been flawlessly applying bonded veneers for years, giving patients a beautiful smile.
Palatal Veneers
Palatal veneers are generally constructed out of gold, but you can also get them manufactured out of porcelain or omposite materials. These veneers are designed specifically for treatment and management of tooth wear and are applied to the inside of your upper teeth.
Non-Permanent Veneers
Non-permanent veneers are typically used before the placement of porcelain veneers or when you want veneers which are easily removed as needed. Non-permanent veneers are made from a flexible type of resin material or plastic. There are even kits you can purchase to apply non-permanent veneers at home.
Whether you want to improve your smile with porcelain veneers or bonded veneers, our Madison cosmetic dentistry service will help you achieve the smile you’ve always dreamed of. Improve your smile and gain a new found onfidence with our expert veneer treatment
Differences between types of veneers
Composite or Porcelain… What’s the Verdict?
At the end of the day, the only way to determine whether a composite or porcelain veneer solution is right for you is to speak with your dentist about your aesthetic goals and to weigh your personal considerations. In other words, what is most important to you? If you’re looking for the most cost-effective solution, then a composite veneers treatment plan will probably be a good fit. However, if you have a severe aesthetic concern, or you’re looking for the most natural and durable treatment solution (and cost is not a consideration), then porcelain veneers will give
you a fantastic result.
Benefits of Porcelain Veneers
Although composite veneers have a number of advantages, there is one area in which they cannot compete with
porcelain: durability. Porcelain is a far stronger material than composite resin (even with the improvements in resin materials over the years).
Well-maintained porcelain veneers can last 10 to 15 years, compared to the five- to seven-year average lifespan of composites. It’s important to consider this tradeoff if you’re thinking of having veneers placed. That is, while composites may cost half as much as porcelain, they last only half as long. So which is the better value?
Most dentists agree that porcelain veneers offer the most natural, tooth-like aesthetics. Porcelain has a translucent quality that is quite similar to tooth enamel. It is also highly resistant to staining and chipping due to the strength of the material and the glaze that is applied after treatment.
On the other hand, composite veneers are more porous and therefore susceptible to staining, meaning that you may need to adjust your diet in order to avoid certain stain-causing foods. Composite also needs to be polished in order to achieve a tooth-like esthetic. And even then it doesn’t quite compare.
The porcelain veneer procedure is more involved, and often requires temporaries be worn while you wait for the veneers to be sculpted in a lab. However more and more dentists are embracing chair side CAD/CAM echnologies that help to speed up the process by allowing for on-site fabrication.
If you are looking for a porcelain veneers solution, it’s important to evaluate the sort of technologies that your dentist has available. You could end up drastically reducing the overall treatment time. Lastly, porcelain veneers offer a viable treatment solution for all cases of worn enamel, wear and tear, genetic defects, uneven teeth, etc.
Composites may not be a viable option for severe concerns. For example, significant discoloration or spacing issues may not be adequately treatable with composite veneers, makes porcelain your only option. Your dentist will conduct a thorough oral health evaluation as part of your consultation to determine your options.
Procedure of veneers
Getting a dental veneer usually requires three trips to the dentist – one for a consultation and two to make and apply the veneers. One tooth or many teeth can simultaneously undergo the veneering process described below.
1. Diagnosis and treatment planning. This first step involves your active participation. Explain to your dentist the result that you are trying to achieve. During this appointment, your dentist will examine your teeth to make sure dental veneers are appropriate for you and discuss what the procedure will involve and some of its limitations. He or she also may take X-rays and possibly make impressions of your mouth and teeth.
2. Preparation. To prepare a tooth for a veneer, your dentist will reshape the tooth surface, which is an amount nearly equal to the thickness of the veneer to be added to the tooth surface. Before trimming off the enamel, you and your dentist will decide the need for a local anesthetic to numb the area. Next, your dentist will make a model or impression of your tooth. This model is sent out to a dental laboratory, which in turn constructs your veneer. It usually takes 2-4 weeks for your dentist to receive the veneers back from the laboratory. Temporary dental veneers can be used for very unsightly teeth.
3. Bonding. Before the dental veneer is permanently cemented to your tooth, your dentist will temporarily place it on your tooth to examine its fit and color. He or she will repeatedly remove and trim the veneer as needed to achieve the proper fit; the veneer color can be adjusted with the shade of cement to be used. Next, to prepare your tooth to receive the veneer, your tooth will be
cleaned, polished, and etched — which roughens the tooth to allow for a strong bonding process. Special cement is applied to the veneer and the veneer is then placed on your tooth. Once properly position on the tooth, your dentist will apply a special light beam to the dental veneer, which activates chemicals in the cement, causing it to harden or cure very quickly. The final steps involve removing any excess cement, evaluating your bite and making any final
adjustments in the veneer as necessary. Your dentist may ask you to return for a follow-up visit in a couple of weeks to check how your gums are responding to the presence of your veneer and to once again examine the veneer’s placement.
Step by Step Guide of Procedure of veneers:
1. Trimming the Tooth
a) With this procedure, the idea is that the enamel on the front side of your tooth is trimmed back about the same thickness as the veneer that will be placed. That way its overall thickness is not dramatically changed. The tooth’s entire front surface is trimmed back about 1/50th of an inch. While performing the trimming, your dentist will keep in mind some recognized guidelines as to the maximum amount of enamel that ideally can be removed, and try to stay within those limits.
b) If your tooth has some areas of decay, your dentist will trim more extensively in those locations so to remove it.
c) At least in theory, porcelain veneers can be bonded over existing white (dental composite) fillings. However, replacing them with new ones helps to ensure the most secure bond possible. Walls (2002) determined that bond strength is maximized if the new veneer is placed within 2 weeks of placement of the new filling. (Fabrication time for laboratory crafted veneers typically lies on the order of 2 weeks.)
d) The outline form of the preparation will be given a shape where the edges of the veneer (where it meets your tooth) aren’t easily seen or lie at a point where opposing teeth make contact.
e) There’s some debate as to whether the edge of a porcelain veneer should end right at the biting edge of its tooth or wrap over to its backside. While this is an issue for your dentist to decide, if no temporary veneer is placed, it will affect your experience. If the veneer wraps to the backside, the biting edge of your tooth will need to be
trimmed slightly shorter and thus will look and feel different than before.
2. Taking the shade:
Your dentist will use their shade guide to determine which color of porcelain most closely matches the teeth that lie to each side of the tooth they’re veneering. They may decide that different colors need to be used for different portions of the veneer. They’ll also make notes about which regions of the laminate need to be comparatively more or less translucent.
3. Taking the impression:
Once the trimming has been completed, your dentist will take an impression of your tooth and its surrounding teeth and gums. It’s this copy of your mouth that will be used to fabricate your veneer. There are two ways an impression can be taken.
Option A – Most dentists will take an impression using impression “putty” or “paste” This is simply thick goo that’s loaded into a tray and then squished over your teeth. It’s allowed to sit for a few minutes until its set and then it’s removed from your mouth (see picture).
This impression is then sent to a dental laboratory and they will use it to make your porcelain veneer. Depending on what arrangements have been made, the turn-around time for this process is usually about 2 weeks
It’s common that a dentist will have prepared (trimmed) your tooth so the edge of your veneer tucks just underneath the gum line. And if so, they’ll probably pack retraction cord (a string similar to yarn) in the crevice between your tooth and its gum tissue just before taking its impression. Once in place, the cord pushes the gum tissue away from the tooth. Then, right before the impression is taken, your dentist will remove the cord. The idea is that even though the retraction cord has been removed, your gums will still remain pushed away from your tooth’s surface for a few moments. This lag provides an opportunity for the impression material to squeeze into the space below the
gum line, thus capturing the full extent of the tooth’s preparation.
Option B – Your dentist may have a dental milling machine that’s coupled with a camera that can take an impression of your tooth optically. The machine can then grind your veneer out of a block of ceramic (a synthetic porcelain), in a
matter of some minutes. The obvious advantage of this technique is that your tooth can be trimmed and its veneer bonded in place, all in one visit.
As convenient as these sounds, if your dentist doesn’t have one of these machines it can be for good reason. Milled veneers are ground out of a block of uniformly-colored ceramic. In comparison, veneers crafted by a laboratory technician can be characterized. Layers of porcelain, each having a different color and degree of translucency, can be used to create a veneer that truly mimics the unique characteristics of the neighboring teeth.
4. Placing a temporary veneer(If needed)
In those cases where your veneer will be fabricated by a dental laboratory, you will usually have to wait 1 or 2 weeks while it is being made. The question then becomes whether or not you will wear a temporary veneer during this time period.
5. The pre-cementation evaluation
At this point, your porcelain veneer has been fabricated and is ready to be bonded onto its tooth. If a temporary veneer has been placed, your dentist will remove it.
6. Bonding the veneer:
Once you and your dentist have determined that its shape and shade are right, your veneer can be bonded into place. Your dentist will first wash out the trial paste and clean and prepare your laminate’s internal surface. They’ll also wash off and polish the surface of your tooth, so it’s clean and ready.
7. Wrapping things up:
The veneer is now securely attached to your tooth. There will be some excess cement that your dentist will need scrape and floss away. (Actually, they’ll probably have removed most of it before fully cured it. That makes getting it off easier.) They’ll also need to evaluate your new restoration’s contours and trim and polish them as is
needed. As a last step, your bite will be evaluated so to confirm that it hasn’t been altered by the placement of your veneer.
8. Follow-up Appointment:
Most dentists will want you to return to their office in about one week. They’ll want to evaluate how your gums have responded to the presence of your new veneer. And if you have decided that its shape needs to be adjusted some more, they can do that at this appointment too. Some people may notice that their veneered tooth as some hot and cold sensitivity. If you do, let your dentist know during this visit. While it’s common that it will resolve on its own, they may be able to speed the process up.
Duration of procedure of veneers:
On average, the porcelain veneers process from consultation to final placement takes around 3 weeks. After your initial consultation, your temporary veneers will be made in our cosmetic lab. Then, after your teeth are prepared and your temporaries are placed, your custom veneers will be fabricated.
Preparation before the procedure
Preparation for veneers includes initial consultations, tooth preparation and having impressions taken. The veneers are then made in a dental laboratory. Your next visit will involve the actual physical preparation. About half a illimeter of the surface of the teeth is removed to compensate for the veneer’s added thickness to the tooth. The dentist then bonds and sculpts the material onto your teeth.
Styles of veneers
Aggressive: Square shaped uniform teeth for a bold impression. Typically more common for males.
Mature: Square shaped teeth with slightly rounded canines.
Vigorous: Square shaped teeth with sharp and prominent canines.
Dominant: Square shaped teeth with more prominent front teeth and rounded canines.
Focused: Slightly rounded teeth with square central incisors.
Enhanced: Slightly rounded teeth
Softened: Rounded teeth with a more discreet curvature.
Hollywood: Square shaped with slightly shorter lateral incisors. This is one of the most popular veneer styles and typically preferred for male patients.
Functional: Slightly rounded shape with pointed canines for optimal function
Natural: Slightly rounded shape with very pointed canines.
Youthful: Round shape with longer canines
Oval: Round shape with rounded canines and incisors.