Proper oral hygiene and regular dental check-ups are key to the long-term durability of dental veneers. Their placement does not limit patients in their dietary habits, nor does the consumption of specific foods affect the colour of dental veneers.
What Are Dental Veneers?
Have you ever wondered how Hollywood stars achieve such perfect smiles? Do you admire their big, white, perfectly aligned teeth and wish nature had been just as generous to you? The answer is not simply good genetics—it lies in ceramic dental veneers and the skilled hands of our dentists and dental technicians.
Dental veneers are minimally invasive prosthetic restorations made of extremely thin, full-ceramic material. They are bonded to the front surface of natural teeth with the aim of achieving a long-lasting improvement in dental aesthetics.
With dental veneers, it is possible to change the shape, colour, size, and inclination of teeth, close gaps between teeth (diastemas), and protect teeth from potential erosion, which may be associated with conditions such as gastritis or bulimia.
It is important to note that such dental veneers are custom-made for each patient from highly aesthetic e.max ceramic, which has the ability to faithfully mimic the appearance of natural teeth.
Who Is a Suitable Candidate for Dental Veneers?
A suitable candidate for dental veneers is a patient who wishes to improve the aesthetic appearance of their teeth and has healthy, properly treated teeth without active cavities, without large composite fillings on those teeth, and preferably without previous endodontic (root canal) treatment. The gums must be healthy, and oral hygiene must be impeccable.
To determine with certainty whether you are a suitable candidate, it is necessary to visit our clinic, where our expert team will perform a dental examination and, if needed, take dental X-rays in order to make a final assessment of your eligibility for aesthetic dental veneers.
What Is the Procedure for Dental Veneers?
Achieving a perfect smile with aesthetic dental veneers requires several visits to the dentist.
During the first appointment, your oral health is assessed through a complete clinical and radiological examination, and your wishes and treatment possibilities are discussed with our experienced dental team.
If you are a suitable candidate and have decided to proceed with the treatment, impressions of your teeth and several photographs of your smile and dental arches can be taken during the same visit.
Based on these photographs, our doctors create a digital smile design, a computer simulation of your smile with veneers. During this process, multiple combinations of shapes, colours, and sizes of future veneers are explored to find the option that best suits your facial features and existing teeth. Using this digital simulation, the dental technician creates a wax-up, modelling the veneers in wax on a plaster model made from your dental impressions.
At the next visit, you are given the opportunity to try and simulate the future veneers directly in your mouth (mock-up). Using a temporary composite material, the veneers individually designed for you by the technician are transferred into your mouth.
At this stage, your feedback is essential. You can express whether you like the teeth or if you would prefer them to be slightly longer, shorter, or more angular. We carefully listen to all your comments. This is the ideal way for both the dentist and the technician to understand your personal preferences, while allowing you to see what your future smile will look like before any tooth preparation begins.
Before preparing the teeth, teeth whitening is often recommended to enhance the final aesthetic result. Additionally, in cases where the gum line is uneven, laser gum contouring (gingivectomy) may be performed to achieve symmetry and maximum aesthetics.
The next step is tooth preparation. Only the front surface of the tooth is prepared, typically by just 0.3–0.6 mm, which is significantly less than what is required for crowns. This approach preserves as much natural tooth structure as possible, reduces the risk of tooth sensitivity, and lowers the chance of loss of tooth vitality. Today, non-prep veneers—veneers placed without any tooth preparation—are increasingly used when ideal conditions are present.
After preparation, precise impressions are taken, and temporary composite veneers are made. These are worn for a short period while the final ceramic veneers are being fabricated. Temporary veneers are aesthetically pleasing and protect the teeth from sensitivity when eating and drinking.
To ensure the veneers fully meet both your expectations and ours, at least one trial fitting is performed. During this stage, you can see the veneers in your mouth and suggest any final refinements or adjustments. Colour, bite relationships, and jaw movements are carefully checked to perfect the final result.
The technician then completes the final adjustments, and the veneers are ready for cementation.
The veneers are bonded using a special adhesive technique that creates an exceptionally strong bond between the veneer and the tooth, so there is no need to worry about them coming loose.
After cementation, no recovery period is required, and patients can immediately return to their normal daily activities.
How to Care for Dental Veneers and How Long Do They Last?
Regular and thorough oral hygiene and routine dental check-ups are essential for the long-term durability of dental veneers.
Although ceramic veneers themselves cannot develop cavities, they cover only the front surface of the tooth. This means that the natural tooth structure beneath the veneer can still be affected by decay if oral hygiene is inadequate.
By brushing your teeth thoroughly twice a day, cleaning interdental spaces with dental floss, and gently massaging the gums with a soft toothbrush, problems such as tooth decay and gum recession around the veneer can be avoided. With proper care, veneers can last over 10 years.
It is important to note that dental veneers do not require changes in dietary habits, nor will they discolour from the consumption of coffee, tea, or pigmented foods. However, biting into very hard or tough foods with veneers is not recommended. Habits such as nail-biting, using toothpicks, or opening objects with your teeth should also be avoided, as they increase the risk of veneer chipping or detachment.
