More on Porcelain Veneers

What is a Veneer?

Learn about one ofveneer's most popularuses color correction.

Porcelain Veneers: A laboratory made custom device that is used to adjust the color, size, shape, spaced between and alignments of the front teeth. Veneers are always made of very life-like porcelain that is bonded onto the fronts of the teeth to achieve the desired results. Treatment is usually approached with the idea of improving the whole smile and therefore, when veneering is performed, it is usually done to the front 6 to 8 teeth, depending upon the size of the patient’s smile.

Groups of cosmetic dentistry veneers prepared at the same time can achieve superior esthetic results than the same number of veneers done individually. The reason for this is that as the dental laboratory is manufacturing the veneers, spacing and size issues can be corrected. They are more durable and have a more life-like appearance than composite veneers.

Treatment consists of numbing and shaping (grinding) of the existing tooth structure to allow room for porcelain. A very accurate impression (mold) is created of the prepared and adjacent tooth structures. Temporary veneers are then made and placed over the prepared teeth for the duration of time the dental laboratory needs to construct the permanent set of porcelain veneers.

Veneers are used on mostly intact teeth, not on teeth with large fillings or that are severely damaged.