Dental veneers are thin, custom-made laminates that are placed on your teeth to improve their colour, shape or overall appearance to your smile. As you can see from the before and after photographs shown, dental veneers can literally change a whole person’s smile in as little as two dental visits.
The first step is to identify what things you do and do not like about your smile and what things you would like changed. You will get to choose from entire set of 16 different smile designs to help guide you throughout the entire process. When you are unsure of how the changes may affect your smile, we are happy to provide you with preliminary “diagnostic wax ups” which are be used to make a temporary set of veneers. You will trial these veneers for a few weeks to make sure that you are happy with the cosmetic makeover before final and permanent changes are made.
This is method is more realistic and you will really get to see and feel what the veneers will be like. This is far better than being shown a set of “before and after photographs” from a book or a computer simulation.
The most common material for dental veneers is porcelain which is made in an Australian-based dental laboratory. The main advantages of porcelain veneers are their realistic tooth-like appearance, colour and excellent gum-health around them. Other materials are also available such as direct or indirect white resin which is similar to the material used for dental fillings. White resin dental veneers are sometimes chosen for younger patients or when a short-term change is desired. Some times no tooth-preparation is required for white resin dental veneers but they may initially feel more bulky on the lips until you become accustomed to them.
If you are clenched or grinder, we may strongly suggest you have a dental splint made to prevent you from damaging your new veneers. For heavy clinchers or grinders, veneers can chip, break or be lost of they are not protected during your sleep.