C E R A M I C V E E N E R S

Just like "cosmetic bonding" was popular in the 1980's, "tooth veneers" enjoyed a peak in popularity in the 1990's. The primary goal behind the development of veneers was to provide patients with a non-metallic cosmetic restoration, while keeping the "back side" of the tooth to add strength to the full width of the laminated veneer. Back in those days, the only type of full crown (or cap) that was metal free was the relatively weak aluminous porcelain crown.

Now that there are at least two technologies lending high strength to all-porcelain crowns, the need for veneers has diminished. Because truly aesthetic veneers require reduction of at least 2/3 of the tooth anyway, the new, high strength, full coverage metal-free crowns are more frequently the restorations of choice.

There are, however, circumstances in which the porcelain laminate veneer is the preferred restoration, and we provide extremely high quality IPS Empress veneers for such instances.

Porcelain veneers are durable, beautiful and very lifelike. When front teeth are rotated, slightly crooked, exhibit large spaces between the teeth, or are badly worn and chipped, veneers can achieve stunning results. Like crowns, they require two visits because the veneers are custom crafted from impressions of your teeth after they are shaped. The shaping is much more conservative than for crowns so that much more of your natural teeth are left intact. After the lab work is complete, the temporaries are removed, and the veneers are permanently bonded to the fronts of the teeth (analogous to artificial fingernails). Many times, we will preview the end result before we even begin with mock ups in your mouth or on study models.