Porcelain Veneers One Of the Quickest Ways To a Beautiful Smile

By Michael B. Rogers, DDS

There are many ways modern dentistry can improve the appearance of your smile. If your teeth are stained, simply having your teeth professionally cleaned can be very effective. If they are heavily stained, whitening with hydrogen peroxide gels can be very effective for patients with an otherwise attractive smile.

If your only concern is the crookedness of your teeth, orthodontic treatments such as braces or Invisalign are good options. If your teeth have relatively minor chips, dental bonding can be quite effective. However, many patients have a combination of chipped, stained, and crooked teeth and want a beautiful smile quickly.

One of the best options for these patients is porcelain veneers. Dental veneers are thin pieces of porcelain shaped like natural teeth that are bonded over the patient's natural teeth for an instant improvement in the smile.

They are long lasting (10-20 years in most cases) and retain their color better than bonding or even natural teeth. They also look more natural than crowns, which may show a black line at the gum line.

Many dentists will advertise that porcelain veneers can be done in just two visits, and while that is technically true, that is not the way I recommend going about it. For the best results, one should start with the end in mind. In our office that means creating a 3-D mock up of how your smile will look when we are done with the process.

Some dentists use cosmetic imaging software to show that patient how their smile might look, but that often leads to unrealistic expectations. By creating a 3-D mock up, the limitations of each individual case are revealed and the patient can decide beforehand whether the end result will be worth the cost.

Also, many dentists will prepare the patient's teeth for the veneers and then let the patient go for a week or two without protecting the prepared teeth. This can lead to embarrassing situations or unnecessary sensitivity. We prefer to use the mock up to create plastic temporary veneers. One huge advantage of utilizing temporary veneers is that the patient gets a “live” preview of what their teeth will look like. At this point, it's very easy to make changes in the plastic temporaries. We can make them longer, shorter, whiter, darker, etc. Only when the patient has decided they like the temporaries will we then process the final porcelain veneers.

Finally, we never cement the veneers without the patient and/or relative or close friend approving the new look.

A new smile can be done properly in 3-4 visits and usually in less than a month, making porcelain veneers one of the best options for improving your smile quickly.