Since the advent of cosmetic dentistry and the development of dental bonding to teeth porcelain veneers have been at the forefront of treatment options to enable people to have confident smiles.
Porcelain veneers can be used in many ways to dramatically improve the colour, shape and position of teeth. If teeth are chipped, worn, discoloured or crooked, dental porcelain veneers can be designed and manufactured to transform the teeth to provide the ideal appearance for your smile.
Though, they are not suitable for everyone in every situation, comprehensive assessment and planning is needed to ensure both that the right cosmetic outcome for a great smile is achieved and the right functional outcome for a long lasting result.
It is always better to move the teeth into line firstly and then have any cosmetic work performed. Otherwise it means that some teeth will require a greater layer of enamel removing from the surface of a tooth increasing the biologic porcelain veneer costs. This is becoming known as the ABC technique standing for align, bleach and bond- ie. straighten the teeth firstly, then whiten to lift and brighten the current natural colour and then bond using either composite or porcelain veneers to finish off the final cosmetic effect.
If your teeth are already very well aligned and only need a cosmetic makeover then sometimes it is possible to undertake a “no prep porcelain veneer technique”. For Liverpool patients who do not want to complete orthodontic brace treatment, porcelain veneers can offer the perfect solution – straight teeth in just a few visits if the natural teeth are not too far out of line to begin with.
As an alternative to porcelain veneers in some circumstances it may be possible to reshape the surfaces and tips of the teeth – termed aesthetic re-contouring. Slight adjustments to the surfaces can shape and level worn / chipped edges and disguise mildly rotated teeth, often combined with incisal edge bonding with composite bonding resin. If a tooth is particularly decayed or damaged then a crown will likely be the best way to rebuild it.
Generally teeth whitening is undertaken prior to any dental porcelain veneer treatment to enable the dentist to reduce only a small amount of tooth enamel from the front surface to create the space for the thin layer of porcelain ceramic. Given a porcelain veneer is a thin porcelain shell, the less discoloured the tooth starting shade is the better, as this enables the dental technician to create a beautiful lifelike effect. Unless the aim is to match in an existing damaged tooth to the rest of the current natural teeth with an aesthetically matched colour.
During the treatment process while the final ceramic work is being manufactured you will be wearing a provisional set of temporary dental veneers which are designed and based on the planned desired cosmetic changes requested and is termed the “trial smile” stage. This diagnostic planning takes place prior to any actually treatment to enable you to visually review the final outcome prior to starting. Meaning there is no guesswork involved in how the teeth are going to look at the end.
Also crucial and often overlooked is the effect the gums have on the overall appearance of the smile. If the gum levels are incorrectly positioned and uneven, this will prevent even great teeth looking beautiful, as the tooth proportions will vary from tooth to tooth. This is especially important for the two front teeth as these are the most dominant aspect of the smile and therefore need to be a perfect match in shapes/profiles and lengths. Therefore as part of the initial planning phase for porcelain veneer treatment, it needs to be determined if the gums need to be raised or lowered to ensure the ultimate result is achieved.
On average, depending on appointment scheduling and diary availability treatment from start to finish can be completed in the region of 4-6 weeks for a multiple porcelain full set of veneers type of case. A single porcelain veneer can be placed in a week. Though if the gum levels do need significant adjustment then this will require extra time for this to be treated and changed in preparation for the ceramic work.
With similar planning composite dental veneers or composite bonding are completed in a single appointment within one to two weeks.
Today with the continued development of bonding and composite resin material more and more cosmetic treatment is undertaken utilising composite bonding and composite veneer techniques. This enables minor cosmetic corrections to be undertaken without more extensive preparation work to the teeth required for porcelain veneers, meaning it is overall healthier in the long term.
Whatever type of dental porcelain veneer treatment is undertaken all dental veneers require good oral health care and maintenance to ensure a long term successful outcome. Dental porcelain veneers will always be subject to the natural wear and tear of the mouth, with composite resin being not as hard wearing in comparison to a porcelain veneer. Usually requiring more care and maintenance over time and on average requires replacing approximately twice as often.
There are many different names around for dental veneers such as Lumineers/ Da Vinci porcelain veneers/ Durathin porcelain veneers/ Laminate porcelain veneers/ Emax porcelain veneers/ American porcelain veneers/ Cerec porcelain veneers made digitally via CAD/CAM techniques but essentially they are all the same things- just different brand names and laboratory manufacturers.
01704871743 lauren@azuredentalclinic.co.uk
If you have any concerns or issues with regards to missing teeth, loose teeth or dentures
and are looking at the potential solution of dental implant treatment then please get in touch.
Implants are a very predictable treatment option. They have good long term success rates but require regular care and maintenance to ensure they remain healthy for as long as possible.
Implants are generally placed under local anaesthetic. Once numb treatment is carried out with the very minimum of discomfort.
No, your dentist will show you how to clean any hard to reach areas around the implant. But you’ll mostly clean them as you would your normal teeth.
Dental implants are designed to provide a long term solution to your gap(s). They require less frequent replacement than other solutions such as dentures or bridgework, making them an overall cost-effective solution to replace a missing tooth (teeth).
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