Porcelain Veneers Procedure

The procedure spans about a month. Having veneers placed on the teeth involves two or three office visits, plus one or two possible follow-up visits. If you want multiple veneers made, you can get them done all at the same set of visits.

On the first visit, your dentist can advise you on the best strategy for improving your smile. He can consider the risks, indications, price, timeline, and other factors that can make you a good or bad candidate for porcelain veneers. Be prepared to listen carefully to the dentist’s advice and if you disagree, be prepared to get another dentist’s opinion. If the dentist recommends porcelain veneers, normally you will have to schedule two additional appointments for moulding and bonding of the veneer. Your dentist might require x-ray images made, to get a better view. If your dentist recommends composite resin veneers, however, they might be prepared on this first visit.

On the next visit, your dentist will determine the exact position of your veneer. Using fine tools, the dentist will cut out a thin layer of your enamel, and then make an impression of the area around this tooth. This excision usually is very tiny, about a half-millimeter, but sometimes is a cut as deep as the dentin. Some cases will use local anaesthetic to numb the sensitive centre of the tooth. If it is a particularly deep removal that the dentist has had to make, in some circumstances you will get a temporary veneer to minimize risk of infection or sensitivity of the dentin. But most people will walk away from the second appointment with a little less tooth then when they walked in. The impression, along with other data about the preferred tooth colour, is sent off to a laboratory where technicians fabricate your very own, one-of-a-kind, porcelain veneer. It is matched to the shape and colour of the surrounding dental area.

Installation and Duration

After two to three weeks of laboratory work, you will have a final bonding appointment, now that your custom porcelain veneer is ready. Dentists do not like to rush laboratories for patients on tight deadlines, but it is sometimes possible to cut queue if your dentist’s business relies upon it! The bonding appointment is the dentist’s chance to show you the art of dentistry. The bonding process involves a bit of estimation, trimming, measuring, and finally bonding. The dentist may make final trimmings to the veneer to make it a perfect fit. Even the colour can be slightly adjusted at this stage. The tooth is cleaned, polished, and etched to create a strong bonding surface. The dentist uses a cement solution as glue, and finally shines a special light onto the veneer that activates chemical reactions in the cement that quicken hardening. Finally, excess cement along the edges of the veneer are removed. The dentist examines the impact the veneer has on the bite and aesthetic appearance. The veneer is now permanently bonded to the tooth! Possible follow-up visits are useful to gauge your happiness with the procedure.

Veneers are known to be stable for decades. Veneers rarely experience damage, and generally only under extreme stress. WebMD states that they should last five to ten years and then need replacement. Dr. Gordon Christensen has seen thirty years of “beautiful” veneer installations, with less deeply cut enamel (and therefore thinner porcelain veneers) having the highest average longevity and lowest post-operative sensitivity. Because it is easier for laboratories to make a thicker veneer, dentists sometimes cave to lab pressure and make a deeper cut; Dr Christensen recommends to make as small a cut as possible. An Australian company GlamSmile claims that its porcelain veneers last twenty years. It also claims that because it does not involve enamel removal, they are reversible. But in general, when ceramic veneers have to be removed due to accidents, it is a royal pain.