Porcelain Veneers
When it comes to smiling, people with broken, discoloured or crooked teeth tend to hide their smile because they are too shy or embarrassed to reveal them. Life is too short to limit yourself so it is important for us that our patients live it to the fullest by smiling away confidently.
What are Dental Veneers?
There are two types of Veneers: Porcelain Veneers and Composite Veneers (also known as Dental Bonding). They are different in materials and methods of placement but essentially, they are placed over an existing front tooth or teeth to improve a more uniform look.
What are Porcelain Veneers?
Porcelain Veneers are made up of thin layers of tooth-coloured porcelains that fits on top of teeth. Like all Veneers, they aim to make the smile look better, natural and well balance in terms of shape and colour. Porcelain Veneers comes in a variety if shapes, shades and translucencies and are made by specialist ceramists.
Compared to Composite Veneers, they are more superior in terms of durability, stain resistant, colour stabilisation and natural appearance. What is best for you depends on your needs and budget so it is important to have a smile consultation with our experienced Dentists before you get started.
Should I get porcelain veneers?
You should consider a smile make over with porcelain veneers if you have the following:
Cracked or broken teeth
Oddly shaped teeth
Very short teeth
Worn teeth
Gaps between teeth
Yellow or black looking teeth
Crowded Teeth
What are the advantages of having Porcelain Veneers?
Porcelain Veneers are the quickest and easiest way of changing your smile – only two appointments in most cases! Not only are they are good at dramatically changing the appearance of teeth, they can also strengthen and protect them from ongoing wear and tear. Other advantages include:
- Long lasting
- Low maintenance
- Stain resistant
- Pain free procedure
- Natural and comfortable smile
How much do Porcelain Veneers cost?
Financially, Porcelain Veneers are more expensive than Composite Veneers, they are roughly $1000 to $1,500 per tooth.
The reason for the higher cost is due to the need to produce high quality porcelain in the manufacturing process. There is a lot of care and technical skill required to be able to produce beautifully shaped and strong porcelains. No two smiles are the same and the process must be individualised, there cannot be any short cuts and the entire process demands delicacy and meticulous detail.
That is why porcelain veneers can easily last 10-15 years, it is a permanent and lasting work that allows you to speak, smile and chew efficiently across 365 days and all the years that follow.
Porcelain Veneers Treatment Process
1. Book a consultation
The first appointment is a smile consultation appointment with our friendly Dentists so that they can understand your needs and expectations. Photographs and a trial fitting may be completed during this consultation.
You can set up a smile consultation appointment by booking online or calling us on 03 9748 7271.
2. Photos
Photographs may be taken of your smile and teeth, these images help us with the planning process and are often sent to the laboratory technician to help them with the process of making and shaping the Veneers so that they can look as beautiful as possible. We also like to show you some before and after shots of your smile transformation.
3. Trial fit mock up
Sometimes, if you are unsure of what the result may look like, our Dentists may take a mould of your teeth and bring you back into the clinic once the moulds are ready to show you what the Veneer would look like.
We call this process a trial fit mock up and involves temporary materials are placed over your teeth so that you can assess the design of the shape and contours of the Porcelain Veneers to see if they are right for you.
After you are happy with the outcome, the process requires two visits.
Visit 1:
4. Preparation
During the preparation process, your teeth will be reduced slightly to make space for the porcelain shells, this reshaping process involves removing 0.5mm and up to 1 mm of your enamel.
Do not worry as this is minimally invasive and our Dentists will make every effort to only prepare what they need. Local anaesthetic may need to be administered if you have sensitive teeth.
5. Creating your moulds
Once the shaping has been completed, our Dentists will take a mould of your teeth to send to our master ceramists.
We use one of the best ceramists in Melbourne who are highly experienced and provide Porcelain Veneers to many Cosmetic Dentists in Victoria.
6. Shade selection
We'll take some more photographs and we'll go through the shade selection process with you which involves choosing the desired colour of the Porcelain Veneer.
7. Temporary Veneers
To conclude the appointment, we'll send you home with some temporary Veneers in place. It is important to avoid hard and stick food whilst wearing temporary Veneers.
Visit 2:
8. Checking your new Porcelain Veneers
Our Dentists will remove the temporary Veneers that you have on to trial fit your new Porcelain Veneers and check that it is correctly shaped, coloured and smooth for you. You will have an opportunity to discuss any queries and request for changes.
9. Smile away!
Once you and your Dentist are completely happy, then it is time to place the Porcelain Veneers over your teeth and smile away!
Caring for your Porcelain Veneers
We and our patients love the transformations completed by Porcelain Veneers, it is therefore very important that once the Porcelain Veneers are in place, we ask patients to take good care of them as they would of their own teeth.
This involves:
- Brushing twice a day
- Daily flossing
- Limit consumption of overly sweet food or drink
- Limit consumption of acidic drinks
- Regular 6 monthly Check up and Cleans with your Dentist
Porcelain Veneers will never decay or erode but the supporting teeth holding them will if you do not take care of yourself.
