Composite or Porcelain?
Dr Nikhil Sharma compares the two materials point by point and sets out the questions that usually settle the decision for you.
Should I Choose Porcelain or Composite Veneers, and How Do the Prices Compare in Broughty Ferry?
Porcelain is the longer-lasting material and resists stain better, typically 10 to 15 years, but it normally involves removing a fine layer of enamel permanently. Composite is built directly onto the tooth across one or two visits with minimal or no drilling, is cheaper up front, and usually wants polishing or refreshing after three to five years. At our Broughty Ferry practice, porcelain veneers start from £695 per tooth, while composite veneers cost £395 each.
In a Nutshell
Composite and porcelain both go over the front of a tooth, altering its colour, shape or length. Either one can close a small gap or tidy up teeth that are a little uneven. From across the room, a good veneer in composite and a good one in porcelain are hard to tell apart.
Where they part company is in the years that follow, and in what happens to the tooth underneath. Porcelain is laboratory-made, holds its gloss and shade for a long time, and generally requires some enamel to be removed. Composite is shaped by hand at the chairside, keeps more of the original tooth intact and is cheaper today, but it dulls and stains sooner. In the end most people choose on two things: how many years they expect from the result, and how much tooth they are prepared to give up for it.
Head to Head
| Feature | Composite | Porcelain |
|---|---|---|
| Made how | Hand-sculpted directly on the tooth | Crafted by a laboratory from a 3D scan |
| Enamel lost | Minimal or none | Normally a thin layer, permanently |
| Visits | One or two | About three, spread over three to four weeks |
| Appearance | Lifelike when new; may lose shine | Glassy finish, closest to real enamel |
| Stain | Gradually takes on tea, coffee and wine | Highly resistant |
| Typical lifespan | Three to five years, then a refresh | 10 to 15 years, frequently longer |
| If it chips | Normally repaired in a single visit | Usually means a replacement veneer |
| Fee per tooth | £395 | From £695 |
These fees are a guide; the figure that applies to you is confirmed in your written plan. 1
See the Result Before You Decide
Every smile consultation includes a digital design, and a trial smile where it adds something.
What Each One Does to the Tooth
If we had to pick one question to start with, it would be this. Composite normally bonds directly to the enamel. Occasionally a sharp corner is smoothed or the surface is lightly roughened to improve the bond, and most people need no injection at all. Often, should you change your mind later, the composite can simply be polished away.
Porcelain has to have space. To stop it looking bulky, roughly half a millimetre of enamel is usually shaped off the front surface, with the tooth numbed by local anaesthetic. There is no undoing that, and those teeth will need a covering from then on. Dr Sharma follows the design you approved so the reduction stays as modest as your case permits, and teeth which are small to begin with or sit slightly back may need very little.
How They Age and How They Are Repaired
Porcelain is hard and glazed, and that is why its colour and shine survive a decade or longer. The drawback is the way it fails: when it goes, it tends to go properly, and a crack or sizeable chip usually means a replacement veneer made from a new scan.
Composite is the softer material. Over the years it loses a little lustre, the edges may pick up staining, and small chips crop up fairly often, especially along the biting edges. In its favour, it is repairable. A chip is normally smoothed and built back up in a short visit, and a set that is looking tired can be polished and refreshed rather than remade from scratch. Composite needs attention more frequently, but each intervention is smaller.
The Cost Today and the Cost Over Time
Right now, composite is the less expensive option per tooth: £395, whereas porcelain starts from £695. 1 Where several teeth are involved, composite also comes in packages that bundle in home whitening, £1,550 for four teeth rising to £3,950 for ten.
Stretch the comparison across ten or fifteen years and the gap narrows, because composite will typically need a few refreshes in the time a set of porcelain veneers might last unchanged. If a shade that stays put for years matters to you and you can accept losing some enamel, porcelain is often the better value. If you would prefer to spend less now and hold on to more of your own tooth, composite tends to be the wiser choice. The dental plan discount applies to neither.
The Four Questions That Settle It
- Are the teeth very dark, or full of old fillings? Porcelain covers deep discolouration and old restorations more dependably. Composite would need to be layered thick to achieve the same.
- Are the teeth sound and mostly unfilled? Composite changes their appearance while keeping nearly all of the enamel intact.
- Do you clench or grind? Composite is quicker to chip yet easy to mend; porcelain is stronger but can fracture under heavy load. A night guard (£210) protects whichever you choose.
- Are the teeth crowded? Straighten them first, normally with Invisalign. Either material can then be made thinner, and some people decide they no longer need veneers at all.
A common path is to start with composite, grow accustomed to the new shape over a few years, then move on to porcelain armed with a clear idea of what you like.
Previewing the Result First
Whichever way you are leaning, we design the new smile from photographs plus a 3D scan of your teeth, and then let you see it as a trial smile fitted over them. There is no drilling and no adhesive, and it is removed before you leave the surgery. Amending the design at this point is free.
Both the design and the trial smile come within your treatment fee. With porcelain, that approved design also dictates how much shaping each tooth receives. Our trial smile guide describes what to check while it is in.
Looking After Veneers of Either Kind
- Brush twice a day using a low-abrasion toothpaste, since whitening pastes can scratch composite
- Clean between the teeth daily, since gum trouble at the margins shortens the life of any veneer
- Keep up your hygiene appointments, where composite is polished and porcelain edges are examined
- Keep pens, ice, nutshells and packaging well away from your front teeth
- Bear in mind that neither material responds to whitening, so get your own teeth lightened before the veneers are shade-matched
Our bonding aftercare guide goes into more detail on caring for composite.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.