Porcelain Veneers

Dr. Lisa Reid: Veneers are analogous to contact lenses, but for the teeth. Veneers are really thin pieces of porcelain that are placed on the teeth to improve the arrangement of teeth, the alignment of teeth, the shape of teeth, and the color of the teeth. Veneers have the potential to really improve harmony in color, in position, to improve the overall appearance of the smile. If a patient is interested in having veneers fabricated, the first visit is a discussion. It includes photos, it includes a digital scan. It's basically an information gathering appointment to assess what their goals are and what is realistic, because you might have a goal, but you may not have a presenting condition that allows for that goal. We spend a lot of time just a diagnostic visit. Once we agree on the appropriate treatment plan with the veneers, then we are creating a digital or a physical wax-up. That wax-up is a roadmap for what the final restoration is going to look like. The patient returns to the office, and we're able to translate that digital wax-up to the patient's mouth. The patient can then say whether or not they like it. Then if they do like what they're seeing in this preliminary a mock-up form, then we go ahead and prepare the teeth to get the final impressions, which we then send to the lab to create the ultimate porcelain restorations. Porcelain veneers are permanent solutions, so they require a minimal reduction of tooth structure so that the porcelain that's added to the teeth are harmonious with the other teeth that are not receiving veneers to ensure a seamless, beautiful outcome. However, an alternative treatment that may be appropriate for some people, whether it be finances or age, would be a composite veneer. That is a procedure that would be carried out one visit in the office, hand-bonding with tooth-color filling material at the visit.