Veneers can Restore

• Teeth that are discoloured from wear and tear, tetracycline staining, excess fluoride, large fillings

• Teeth that are worn down

• Teeth that are chipped or broken

• Teeth that are uneven, out of line or irregularly shaped teeth with gaps between them (especially to close the space between these teeth)

A porcelain veneer requires two visits 

Diagnosis and treatment planning.

Your aesthetic dentist will examine your teeth to make sure dental veneers are appropriate for you. A series of smile design photos will be taken with professional cameras for computer design and analysis of your smile in 2 and 3 dimensions. Digital scans of your teeth will be taken to analyse your bite to ensure that porcelain veneers will match in to your bite for a durable solution

Preparation. To prepare a tooth for a veneer, your aesthetic dentist may refine half a millimetre of enamel from the tooth surface, which is an amount equal to the thickness of the veneer to be added to the tooth surface, and scan your teeth and bite. In some circumstances no tooth structure is removed, in a procedure known as no preparation (or no prep) veneers, however this is dependent on a number of factors, such as your bite and the angle that the tooth sits at. The scan is sent out to our master ceramist team who will design your new smile on the computer, by lining up your smile and analysing your facial proportions in collaboration with your aesthetic dentist, and 3D models are the printed with a smile mock up index so that you can see your new smile come to life in a process called smile trial or try in. Our master ceramists then press and layer the porcelain veneers in the lab within 3 weeks. In the meantime, your cosmetic dentist will place temporary veneers for you so you will look fine until your new porcelain veneers are completed. It is important to be gentle and careful with temporaries, since they are designed to be removed some weeks after they are first placed for you.

Bonding. Your tooth will be cleaned and prepared for seamless bonding and a specialised cement is applied to the veneer which is is then placed on your tooth. Once properly positioned on the tooth, your cosmetic dentist will apply a light beam to the dental veneer, which activates the cement, causing it to set.

With excellent home care and regular dentist and dental hygiene appointments, porcelain veneers can last 10 years of longer.  It is important to brush twice a day, floss daily and to limit sugary foods and drinks, just as you would with natural tooth structure. Your dentist and dental hygienist need to check on your porcelain veneers every 6 months, along with professional scaling and cleaning to ensure that the veneers stay in excellent condition. Your dentist may recommend a night guard to protect the porcelain in your bite and to prevent wear and tear from clenching or grinding from affecting chipping or debonding them.