Porcelain Veneers at Hudson Bend Dental
Many people suffer from a smile they don't like. Sometimes people have stains that won't come out with traditional tooth whitening. Other people have spaces or mild crowding that was never fixed with braces or Invisalign. Some people just don't like the shape of their teeth.
Whatever your reason for wanting to change your smile, porcelain veneers may be the best option for you.
Porcelain veneers are thin coverings of porcelain or ceramic that are bonded to the front (and sometimes sides) of your front teeth. Sometimes we can bond them onto your teeth with minimal preparation of the tooth enamel. Most of the time we need to "even things out" so that the translucent porcelain doesn't have any thin spots once bonded to your teeth.
For the bigger transformations, all the old enamel needs to be removed to prepare the teeth for the new porcelain. Acrylic "temporary" veneers are made chairside so you can keep smiling until your new porcelain veneers are ready.
When evaluating your smile for veneers, look in the mirror and try to count how many teeth show when you smile your biggest. For most patients, the number is usually 8 upper teeth. Some people with large mouths will show 10 uppers, and those with little mouths may only show 6. Because porcelain veneers are all made by hand by a technician in a lab far far away, you should have as many teeth as possible fixed at one time so the color, shape, and texture match each othert. A single veneer on a front tooth is near impossible to match to adjacent teeth. A single chipped tooth, if the others are in good shape, usually requires two veneers to get a decent match.
We hope that all patients will get 20+ years of longevity from these restorations, but everyone treats their teeth differently. Your mileage may vary.
There are two type of porcelain veneer- a true "porcelain" veneer" and a stronger "pressed ceramic" veneer. The porcelain veneer is more translucent and natural looking, but they are fragile and don't mask dark underlying colors. The pressed ceramic veneer is more strong and more opaque. It can mask dark root- canaled teeth and stain, but they should be placed in groups due to the difficulty in matching the color of surrounding teeth.
What are Lumineers? Lumineers is a brand name of porcelain veneer. The Lumineer company keeps strict control over their dentists and labs, and requires periodic certification and licenses.. This will increase the price of the Lumineer. There are several companies that offer excellent veneers that don't require periodic licensing (like Vivaneers). Hudson Bend Dental does not offer "Lumineers", and because of this we can beat most any "Lumineer" price.
Hudson Bend Dental offers free consults for porcelain veneers so give us a call and we'll give you all your options.
