A Dental Veneer is to make a new tooth surface in order to cover the real tooth surface which doesn’t look nice. If using resin (plastic) and directly work in the mouth (“Direct Resin Composite Veneer”), the material can be built up directly on the real tooth surface by having a little tooth preparation or none – depending on cases, to make it look nice, aligned, and natural. If using ceramic (porcelain), laboratory work is needed in order to fabricate a dental veneer (“Indirect Ceramic Veneer”). It is necessary to do a tooth preparation so that there will be space for a veneer, then taking impression, shade guide selection, and send the model to the lab so that the lab can work on the veneer and deliver the work back for a dentist to place it on a patient’s tooth thereafter.

Although a dental veneer looks very fragile, when it is cemented onto a tooth surface which has been well-prepared, the tooth and the veneer will become one and will be very strong. Therefore, do not worry about its strength except you have a very strong bite or a night-grinder. In such cases, it is necessary to have an occlusal splint after the veneers are cemented so that it can help prevent breakage or damage of the veneers and your natural teeth.

Is it necessary to do a dental veneer?

If the tooth needs a restoration that needs a very natural look and normal fillings cannot fulfill the needs, a dental veneer can be put into consideration. If a tooth has severe discoloration which merely tooth whitening cannot work efficiently, a dental veneer can also be put into consideration. The necessity depends on each individual’s needs as well as the dentist’s judgment.

Please do not forget that there are many ways to treat tooth abnormality and mal-alignment. Each has its own good and bad points, indications and limitations. There should be enough information to choose a proper treatment for each case. A dental consultation with your dentist is very important so that the treatment will be appropriate and best for you.

What are the Pros & Cons of Dental Veneers?

Unlike a crown, the tooth that is prepared for a Ceramic Dental Veneer will be grinded out only the front surface, not the whole tooth. Therefore, the remaining sound tooth will be conserved more than making a crown, while having a natural esthetic. Also, when bonding a ceramic veneer to a tooth, the bond will be very strong – as strong as that of a natural tooth, and will not be easily breaking down. You can choose the tooth (veneer) color of your choice.

In case of severe discoloration that cannot be solved with just teeth whitening, a dental veneer is a good choice to consider, with or without a teeth whitening. This is because a dental veneer can yield esthetic and is quite strong, and also conserves tooth structure more than working on a crown. To cover many teeth discoloration, we need to do as many veneers as the total visible teeth, so it might be costly to do so when compare to teeth whitening.

Resin (Plastic) Veneer is not so pricey, but there is a limitation in terms of color mismatch when time goes by as resin tends to absorb color and smell, so there might be a necessity to change the material after some time. Good thing of using resin veneer is that it can be done directly in the mouth and it is only one visit needed and not so costly, while using ceramic veneer will take a longer period of time and generally takes about 2 visits to finish a case, and cost a little more.

A direct resin composite veneer is about 1,000 – 2,000 baht depending on the size of the tooth and the difficulties. A Ceramic Veneer is about 8,000 – 9,000 baht depending on difficulties and types of material used

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Taking care of a Dental Veneer is the same as taking care of natural teeth; that is, brushing, flossing, and visiting a dentist regularly for checking-up and cleaning. This is because a dental veneer, when cemented onto a tooth surface, will be as strong as a natural tooth. However, if it is a resin composite veneer, care should be taken when eating staining food since it can stain the veneer.

Moreover, if you have abnormal habits, such as, nail biting or biting on anything hard, or teeth grinding, the veneers can be damaged. Therefore, those habits should be broken. If the habit persists, there might be a necessity to have auxiliary appliances which can be an occlusal splint or a night guard in order to protect teeth and veneers from excessive force which can damage teeth and veneer during teeth grinding.