What veneers handle well, and what they do not
- Discoloration that will not whiten. Deep intrinsic staining, patchy fluorosis, a tooth darkened from the inside after an old injury. Peroxide has a ceiling, and covering the color is what remains.
- Chipped and worn edges. Grinding and acid wear shorten the upper front teeth. Veneers restore the length, provided the grinding is managed too.
- Small gaps and slight rotations. A space can be closed by widening the teeth either side, and a small rotation masked by building to a corrected line. Proportion sets the limit.
- Undersized or misshapen teeth. Narrow, peg-shaped lateral incisors are the case where a veneer does something nothing else does as well.
They are the wrong answer for significant crowding, which needs the teeth moved rather than cut down, and a poor bet on a heavy grinder unless the grinding is protected against. They do not go over gum disease or untreated decay, treated first through periodontal care. Where a front tooth has little enamel left to bond to, a crown is the honest answer.
What the process involves, appointment by appointment
Planning to bonding is usually a few weeks, ordered so you approve the design before the teeth are touched.
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Examination, photographs and records
Health of teeth and gums first, then photographs, a shade record and impressions. Whitening, if it is planned, happens now and settles before anything is matched to it.
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A wax-up, and a trial smile
The proposed shape is built in wax and copied into your mouth in temporary material over unprepared teeth. Changes here are free. Changes after the porcelain is fired are not.
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Preparation and temporaries
Enamel is removed under local anesthetic using the approved wax-up as a guide, so the tooth is reduced by what the design needs rather than a fixed amount. Temporaries go on for a week or two.
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Try-in, then bonding
The veneers are tried on with a water-soluble paste and checked in daylight, the last point at which the laboratory can change something. Bonding needs a dry field, because moisture here is what makes bonds fail later.
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Review, and a night guard if you grind
The gums are checked once they settle around the new margins. Porcelain copes badly with sustained night-time load.
Veneers or crowns
Both are porcelain. The difference is how much they cover and why you would need one. More on the porcelain crowns page.
| Consideration | Porcelain veneer | Porcelain crown |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | The front surface and usually the biting edge | The entire tooth, all the way around |
| Tooth removed | A thin layer of enamel, mostly from the front | A substantial layer from every surface |
| What it is for | The appearance of a sound tooth | Holding a weakened or broken tooth together |
| How it holds | By bonding, so it needs enamel | Mechanically as well, so it works with little enamel left |
| Typical case | A chipped or discolored front tooth | A cracked tooth, or one after root canal therapy |
How long do porcelain veneers last
Ten to fifteen years is a reasonable planning figure for well made veneers on teeth that are looked after. Plenty go longer and some fail early, and the spread is not random.
Grinding shortens their life more than anything else, followed by nail biting, chewing ice and opening things with your teeth. Gum recession exposes the margin, and decay can start there, because the tooth underneath is still your tooth. Chipping is the other common failure, since porcelain is brittle where it is thin.
Replacement means sectioning the old veneer off and making a new one, with a little more tooth going each time. If too much enamel has gone by then, that becomes a crown.
Porcelain veneer questions we get asked
How much do porcelain veneers cost?
Does getting veneers hurt?
The preparation appointment is done under local anesthetic and most people are comfortable throughout. Teeth are commonly sensitive to cold for a few days to a few weeks in temporaries, and that settles once the veneers are bonded.
Will veneers look fake?
That is decided by shade, translucency, texture and length rather than by the material. Porcelain can be made to look natural, and equally can be made uniformly bright and flat. The trial smile stage exists so you choose deliberately.
Can I whiten veneers later?
No. Porcelain holds whatever shade it was made in, which is why whitening comes first and settles before matching. Whiten the rest of your teeth years later and the veneers will no longer match.