A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain or plastic-like an ultra-thin fingernail-that is bonded to a tooth to improve its color and shape.

2. Does the porcelain veneer cover the entire tooth?

A porcelain veneer generally covers only the front and top of a tooth.

3. When is a porcelain veneer the best choice of treatment?

 Porcelain veneers are often the best treatment to close spaces between teeth, lengthen small or misshapen teeth, or to whiten stained or dark teeth.

4. Are there any other advantages to porcelain veneers?

When teeth are chipped or beginning to wear, porcelain veneers can protect them from further damage and restore their original appearance.

5. How does the porcelain veneer treatment work?

How many appointments? It takes two or more appointments to restore teeth with porcelain veneers. During the first appointment, the doctor shapes and lightly roughens the surface of the teeth. Then impressions are taken that the doctor uses to make exact working models of the mouth. It's on these models that the porcelain veneers get artistically crafted to fit the prepared teeth.

During the second appointment, the prepared teeth get cleaned and polished. Then the dentist uses a special adhesive to bond the porcelain veneers to the teeth. A gentle, high-intensity light hardens the adhesive.

6. How will I look while I wait for the lab to make my permanent porcelain veneers? 

After the teeth are prepared for porcelain veneers, the patient leaves the office wearing highly specialized temporary porcelain veneers, which look better than their original teeth. The temporaries look very much like the permanent porcelain veneers will look.

7. Will it feel like there are bulky coverings on the teeth?

Once in place, the porcelain veneers virtually become part of the teeth. We can use them exactly as our own teeth, because the bond is extremely strong. The final result: natural, beautiful looking teeth.

8. What determines the color and shape of the porcelain veneers we choose?

The shape of the face, whites of the eyes, skin tones, height, body type, even the personality of the patient are factors in designing porcelain veneers.

9. Do porcelain veneers look as natural as original teeth?

The luster, shine and translucency of porcelain make it a near-perfect copy of natural enamel.

10. How long do porcelain veneers last?

Porcelain veneers last between ten and twenty years. Porcelain is a strong, highly resilient material that will not stain or wear from brushing. And the thin façade of porcelain that is bonded to the enamel becomes extremely strong-and durable!

11. What is a Lumineer? And does it really offer a better veneer solution?

In recent years, powerful marketing has been pumping the image of Lumineers as a choice that provides the thinnest covering for teeth in need of a better look. Dental consumers are hard pressed to challenge the claims of this product that these veneers are “significantly thinner” and there is “no need to prepare the tooth surface.”