Veneers are a great option if you want to change the appearance of your smile. Many patients are unhappy with the shape, colour or alignment of their teeth and Veneers can help in these cases.
Even a slight crookedness of your teeth or gaps can be fixed if an orthodontic treatment is not for you.
What are Veneers?
Veneers are custom-made, wafer thin shells of tooth coloured material that gets attached to the front of your teeth. Depending on your individual smile we will help you to decide which teeth will need a Veneer.
They are made of porcelain or can be made directly on your teeth with composite, a dental material made of a resin matrix and inorganic fillers like ceramic.
The Benefits of Veneers
It’s a quick and easy way to change your smile and wont damage your teeth, because they get attached to your natural teeth.
Cracks, chips or heavily stained teeth can be masked. If your teeth are worn down by parafunctional habits like grinding your teeth, Veneers can restore their original shape and look. Depending on the severity of your case you might need full crowns or we will have to restore your vertical dimension first.
How long do veneers last?
That depends how well you take care of them and if you have any parafunctional habits. That includes biting your nails, temporomandibular dysfunctions like clenching and bruxism, biting on pens or cracking hard foods with your front teeth. Because they are thin these behaviours can lead to cracks and chips and can therefore reduce the longevity of veneers.
But if you see your dentist regularly and take well care of your teeth they will last you many years.
Composite vs porcelain veneers- which one is better?
The answer might surprise you it’s neither. They both come with their unique benefits.
The advantages of composite veneers are that they can be made in one appointment and you won’t feel any pain and there won’t be any drilling. Therefore this is a very gentle option and can still give you the results that you wish for. The downside of composite veneers is that they chip easier and they usually need more maintenance than porcelain veneers, which shortens their lifespan to 5-7 years. But great news you don’t have to spend a fortune on them. That means if you want to try veneers or you want to have the perfect smile for a big event like your wedding day they are a great option.
Traditional porcelain veneers on the other hand will last you much longer. Usually between 10-15 years and no prep veneers about 5-7 years. Porcelain is a very hard material which has very nice optic properties. This and their life span are the biggest differences compared to composite veneers.
For porcelain veneers the surface of your teeth needs to be prepared. We use the latest technology which allows us to prepare minimal amounts. Our step by step process will allow you to see the final veneers before we attach them and be part of the whole process to make sure you are satisfied with the look of your new smile. An experienced lab technician will be needed to make nice looking, long lasting veneers. We are very fortunate to be working with one, who does outstanding veneers.
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