Porcelain veneers are very thin shells of ceramic material that are permanently bonded to the front surface of your teeth. Each veneer is fully customized for you and color-matched to blend in with your surrounding teeth.

Porcelain veneers are versatile and can address many different cosmetic dental issues such as:

Chipped and/or broken teeth Crooked or unevenly worn teeth Crowded teeth Stains due to injury, root canals or antibiotics Discolored fillings

How the Veneer Process Works

Applying porcelain veneers takes about a month from start to finish and typically involves three appointments with your cosmetic dentist.

Appointment #1 – You have an initial consultation with the cosmetic dentist to discuss your current dental issues, your desired end results and the dentist’s opinion for the best solution to achieve your ideal smile.

Some of the determining factors in deciding if you are a candidate for veneers are:

Do you have healthy teeth? Do you have any active decay or gum disease? Do you have adequate enamel? Do you clench or grind your teeth? Do you have severely misaligned teeth or an unstable bite?

If you decide together that porcelain veneers are the best option, you can then schedule the rest of your visits.

Appointment #2 – During your second appointment, the teeth requiring veneers will be slightly shaved down to accommodate the thickness of the veneers and then a mold, or impression, will be taken of your teeth. Your cosmetic dentist will send the impression to a dental lab, which will then fabricate the veneers. It takes the lab approximately two weeks to make the veneers and send them back to your cosmetic dentist.  You will wear temporary veneers while your final ones are being prepared.  The quality of temporary veneers varies widely from dentist to dentist, and this is one important factor to consider when selecting your cosmetic dentist.

Appointment #3 – This is the most exciting appointment because you’ll leave with a dazzling and beautiful new smile. In this appointment, the veneers will be temporarily placed on your teeth, and adjusted until both you and your cosmetic dentist are happy with them. Then they’ll be permanently cemented to your teeth, and actually becoming a part of those teeth.

How will the completed porcelain veneers look?

Placed correctly, porcelain veneers look virtually identical to your natural teeth. The porcelain has slight variations in color just as regular teeth do and while porcelain veneers are as durable as natural teeth, they are not impervious to damage. Anything that will break a real tooth can break a veneer.

Only a qualified cosmetic dentist can design and place veneers that will blend in almost perfectly with the rest of your natural teeth.