Veneers, Appointment by Appointment

Are Veneers the Right Answer?

The first question Dr Sharma asks has nothing to do with porcelain. He wants to hear what you dislike when you catch your smile in the mirror, because that answer points to the treatment. If the teeth are simply a shade too yellow, home whitening may be all that is needed. A chipped edge or a narrow gap is often quicker, cheaper and gentler on the tooth with composite bonding.

Crowded teeth are the main exception. To line up crooked teeth with veneers alone, far more enamel has to be removed, so our usual advice is Invisalign first, then a fresh conversation about whether veneers are still wanted at all. A good number of people decide they are not.

Decay, fillings that are leaking and inflamed gums are all dealt with before any cosmetic work begins, since porcelain bonded to an unhealthy tooth will not survive. The consultation itself is free: you book it with a £40 deposit, refunded within seven days of attending, and you take away a written plan that itemises each tooth with its fee, plus the order of treatment. There is no pressure to decide there and then.

First Visit: Designing the Smile and Trying It On

Allow about ninety minutes for this one, as it is the longest of the three. We photograph you and film a short clip of you chatting and smiling, then capture your teeth with the iTero Lumina scanner, so there is no putty to sit through. Working from those records, we design the new smile on screen over your own face. Length and width are set by your lips, the centre line of your face and the way you naturally smile, rather than lifted from a catalogue.

That design is turned into a temporary mock-up resting over your own teeth, with no cutting and no glue involved. You look at it in the mirror, speak with it in, take a few photos on your phone and tell us honestly what you think. Longer, shorter, softer corners, more even: all of it can be changed at this stage, and a change of mind here costs you nothing. Our guide to the trial smile goes into more detail.

Which Teeth, and What Colour?

Smile broadly and count what shows. For most people the answer is six to ten upper teeth, and that is normally how many a full set of veneers covers. One veneer on its own is also an option, usually to hide a single discoloured or oddly shaped front tooth, though blending a lone veneer with the natural teeth either side is one of the trickiest tasks in cosmetic dentistry and calls for careful shade matching.

You pick the shade with us in natural light, comparing it with the whites of your eyes and your skin tone. A very bright white flatters some faces yet looks artificial on others, so we show you the options on your own photographs. Whiten first if you would like the natural teeth beside the veneers to be lighter. Porcelain does not respond to whitening gel, so matching of the veneers waits until your new shade has settled.

Second Visit: Shaping the Teeth

Local anaesthetic numbs the teeth, so you feel pressure and a little vibration rather than pain. A thin layer of enamel, roughly half a millimetre as a rule, is taken off the front face of each tooth, making room for the porcelain; skip this step and the veneers would stand proud and look bulky. Because the design you approved maps out exactly where reduction is needed, it is kept to the least your case will allow.

One thing to be certain of before you reach this visit: enamel that has been removed is gone for good, and those teeth will always need some form of covering. That is the whole reason the trial smile happens first. Once shaped, the teeth are scanned a second time and the file goes off to the laboratory, while temporary veneers are made chairside so you walk out with a full smile.

Living with the Temporaries

Temporaries are made of a softer material and attached only lightly, which lets them come off cleanly at the fitting appointment. They look fine rather than flawless, and that is expected. A few simple habits will see them through until the porcelain is ready:

• Chop food small and do your chewing with the back teeth
• Avoid toffee, crusty rolls, boiled sweets and anything you would normally bite through with your front teeth
• Brush softly, and slide floss out sideways instead of pulling it up through the contact
• Some cold sensitivity for a few days is usual and tends to fade on its own
• If a temporary chips or comes loose, give us a ring; it is generally a quick repair

Third Visit: Bonding the Veneers

With the temporaries removed, every veneer is tried in with a water-soluble paste so that you and Dr Sharma can assess fit, shape and colour while it is still reversible. A veneer that is not quite right is sent back to the laboratory. We would far rather rebook you than cement something you have doubts about.

When you are satisfied, each tooth is cleaned and conditioned, the veneers go on one at a time, each set with a curing light, and any excess resin is trimmed away. We then check your bite in every direction, including side-to-side grinding movements, and adjust as needed. A review about two weeks later confirms the gums have calmed down and the bite still feels right.

The Timetable From Start to Finish

If you skip whitening and straightening, the whole process normally runs three to four weeks. Straightening first adds months but means thinner veneers and less enamel lost. Your written plan lays out your personal timeline before anything starts.

The Cost of Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers start from £695 a tooth. ¹ That figure already includes the design work, the trial smile, your temporaries and the review appointment; none of them is charged separately. Where a tooth needs preparatory work, such as an old filling being replaced, the cost can be higher, and your plan will show this before treatment begins. By way of comparison, composite veneers are £395 a tooth. The dental plan discount does not apply to veneers.

Keeping Porcelain in Good Shape

Looked after sensibly, porcelain usually lasts 10 to 15 years and frequently longer. When veneers do fail, the common culprits are grinding, biting hard objects, and gum recession exposing the edge of the veneer.

• Brush twice a day and clean between the teeth once a day
• Attend your hygiene visits so the margins are kept clean and inspected
• Wear a custom night guard (£210) if you clench or grind
• Open packaging with scissors, and keep pen lids and ice cubes away from your teeth
• Coffee, tea, red wine and smoking will not stain the porcelain itself, though they can discolour the edges

When the day comes to replace a veneer, it is remade from a new scan, which is also the ideal time to match it to any whitening you have had in the meantime.

Questions

This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.