Designing a better smile sometimes requires a change in the size, shape, or color of your teeth. Porcelain laminate veneers (thin layers of dental ceramic material) enhance your appearance by replacing the natural enamel on the outside of your teeth. A veneer is physically bonded to the surface of a tooth, in essence, becoming part of it.

Traditionally, a small amount of the natural tooth enamel is drilled away to allow room for the veneer. But today, in some circumstances, it is possible to use an approach where enamel reduction or preparation is not necessary because the veneers can be bonded directly onto the tooth's natural surface. These are called “Prepless” or “No-prep” veneers, and are used to create aesthetically pleasing and natural looking restorations. An advantage of the prepless procedure is that the process is reversible so that you can give your new smile a “test drive.”

You may be a good subject for Prepless veneers if:

• Your smile is narrow because the teeth in the sides of your smile are positioned inward and do not show from a frontal view.
• There is spacing between your teeth, and the teeth appear too small.
• You have a fairly common genetic condition in which one or both of the teeth directly next to the two upper front teeth are very small and peg-shaped.
• There is an imbalance between the size of your lips and teeth (large lips and small teeth), which are not in proportion to show off your best smile.

Prepless veneers are probably not for you if:

• Your teeth are not aligned properly in your bite.
• Your teeth are very crowded, resulting in poor facial profile.
• Your teeth are already relatively large or positioned forward.

In these cases you may need to have some form of orthodontic treatment to move your teeth into better position. Sometimes veneers can be used to create an illusion of proper tooth alignment, but some amount of tooth reduction may be required.

We can assess whether prepless veneers are right for you. There is no substitute for an expert dentist's talent and expertise with the various cosmetic techniques available today. These skills combined with a thorough diagnostic evaluation, and a clear understanding of your goals, are the keys to providing you with a successful and beautiful smile.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment or to discuss your questions about cosmetic dentistry. You can also learn more about prepless veneers by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Porcelain Veneers Without the Drill.”

If you are unhappy with the appearance of your smile and would like to change it, we can help you determine what will work best, from a simple whitening to brighten your smile to a complete smile makeover — the possibilities are almost limitless! Consider a “Smile Design” customized just for you. One method of improving your smile is with porcelain veneers. Porcelain laminate veneer tooth restorations are thin layers of dental ceramic — a glass-like material created by dental laboratory technicians, the “artists” who exactly mimic natural teeth making them straighter, whiter, and brighter. They are used to replace worn, dull-looking stained enamel. In addition to making your teeth and smile whiter and brighter, veneers can even be used to change tooth shape and color, close small spaces, and reshape slightly crooked or mis-shapen teeth.

In order to determine if porcelain veneers are a viable solution to help you achieve the smile you have always longed for, consider the following questions:

• Do you want to permanently alter the appearance of your smile?
• Are you hoping to make improvements to your smile that don't take a very long time to complete?
• Are you looking for a way to improve your smile with minimal or even no removal of your natural tooth material?
• Would you like to have more evenly aligned teeth?
• Do you want to change the color of your teeth?
• Do you want whiter teeth and a brighter smile?

If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes and whitening or other treatments have not given you the smile you want, we can help you assess the feasibility of porcelain veneers as one of the many options to enhance and improve your smile. We can fully discuss all the benefits, risks, alternatives, and costs associated with improving your smile.

Call us to make an appointment for a Smile Design consultation and we can get started. If you would like to read more information about porcelain veneers, as well as see a few before and after photos, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Smile Design Enhanced With Porcelain Veneers.”

A veneer is a thin layer of dental ceramic tooth-colored restorative material, usually made of porcelain, which replaces some of the tooth's enamel and is physically bonded to it.

You might want to consider porcelain veneers:

10. If your teeth are severely discolored. (For best results we may recommend that your teeth be whitened before veneering them.)
9. If your teeth cannot be evenly whitened or matched by other means.
8. If your teeth are misshapen or worn, you can change their size or shape for optimum aesthetic appeal.
7. If you don't want to have your teeth prepared (drilled), prepless veneers may be an option to change your smile.
6. If you want as little natural tooth structure prepared as possible to improve your smile.
5. If you would like something temporary first to “test-drive” your new smile, then:
4. “Provisional veneers” allow you to try out your new smile and give us feedback before the final permanent veneers are placed.
3. If you want to improve your smile for just one tooth or even multiple teeth.
2. If you want long-lasting restorations — veneers can last from seven to twenty years or more.

And the top reason is:

1. Porcelain laminate veneers are among the most aesthetic ways to create a more beautiful, yet normal, looking smile.

Tell us what you want to change about your current smile, and we can tell you whether veneers are right for you. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or to discuss your questions about cosmetic dentistry. You can learn more by reading about porcelain veneers in Dear Doctor magazine.

A dental crown is a tooth-shaped “cap” or cover that we place over a tooth that is badly damaged from trauma or decay to restore its shape, strength, size and functionality. We also use them for cosmetic reasons to improve a tooth's appearance with natural, life-like results. Crowns are generally handcrafted by dental laboratory technicians using high-quality dental porcelains (ceramic materials) that are made to fit on precise replicas (molds) of the prepared teeth. In our office, we generally make temporary crowns to protect the teeth to keep them comfortable and functional while the permanent crown(s) is being made. And once a crown is placed (cemented into position), it fully encases the entire visible portion of the tooth that lies at and above the gum line.

When Are They Necessary?

There are many reasons a crown may be needed. Some of these include:

• To repair a tooth that is worn down, broken or badly damaged by decay or injury.
• To restore a tooth so severely damaged by decay that the tooth's structure is no longer intact enough to place a filling or where a filling can't restore the tooth to its former strength.
• To protect a tooth that has minor cracks or fractures from further damage.
• To create a bridge to replace a missing tooth, in which the teeth on either side, known as abutments, must be “crowned” to attach to the “pontic” (from the French word, “pont” that means bridge).
• To create the visible part of the tooth that sits atop a dental implant.
• To improve the appearance of a tooth providing a more appealing shape and color.

To learn more on this topic, read the Dear Doctor article, “Porcelain Crowns & Veneers.” You can also contact us to discuss your questions or to schedule a consultation.

While we have gained recognition for our role in creating gorgeous smiles with porcelain veneers, the often overlooked or unknown key contributors in this process are the dental laboratory technicians. These behind-the-scenes artists are the trained professionals in the art of using dental porcelain to hand-craft veneers and crowns into near exact replicas of natural teeth in shine, opacity, translucence and shape.

Through the use of precise molds and excellent communication skills, we share detailed information with the laboratory technician to create veneers or crowns specifically for enhancing and improving your smile. In fact, communication must be so exact that it often demands correct lighting, cameras and computers to produce optimal results. This process also requires a variety of colors, shapes and translucency, created so that once we cement them into place, they appear as beautiful natural teeth. If your veneers are part of a smile restoration or makeover and you are getting them for several front teeth, the end results are typically brighter and whiter than your natural teeth. However, they must blend with surrounding teeth if those teeth are not also receiving veneers. So it is often recommended to have your natural teeth whitened before the veneers are replaced.

Good dental porcelains in the right hands can make for spectacular tooth imitations by mimicking tooth enamel perfectly. And now that you have these facts, you begin to understand all of the expertise, artistry, and the technology required by laboratory technicians to produce the most dazzling porcelain veneers.

To learn more about porcelain veneers, continue reading the Dear Doctor article, “Smile Design Enhanced With Porcelain Veneers.” Or if you are ready to see what cosmetic dentistry can do for you, contact us to schedule a consultation.