Typically the most common materials used to make veneers are either a composite or porcelain. There are a number of different dental labs that fabricate these veneers, and each one, even though the same in function, they do have slightly different features and benefits.
Composites Vs Porcelain
These are the two base main materials that are used when making veneers. Composite is also the same material used in white fillings. It is the cheaper material of the two, and as a result, the overall treatment price is subsequently cheaper for you as the patient. However, the biggest downside to this material is that its not as strong as porcelain, and does require more tooth preparation (filing down healthy tooth structure).
Porcelain is also the same material used to commonly make dental crowns. Its a very strong material, which means they can be made thinner than their composite counterparts, and the tooth doesn’t require as much tooth preparation.
Features & Benefits
Dental veneers are very much a cosmetic treatment aimed at improving the overall aesthetics of your teeth, and smile. To undergo any form of cosmetic treatment, you need to be dentally fit. This is always an important aspect and we will do a thorough dental examination to ensure this option is suitable for you.
Features
- White and bright teeth
- Beautiful symmetrical smiles
- Ideal tooth shape
Benefits
- Improved confidence
- Natural looking teeth
- Long lasting (with good up keep)
Getting veneers can be a very interactive process. We value your input when creating your new smile. We are strong advocates for natural looking smiles to fit the patient we are treating. But we also understand that patients may have higher expectations or would want something slightly more “hollywood”. This is why it is important you are included in the smile design process.
Smile Design Principles
There are 9 key principles to take into account when designing a new smile:
Midline – the midline is essentially the middle of our face. Symmetry is an important aspect to get right. The way we do this is to make sure that the front two teeth and surrounding teeth of the midline are evenly distributed to give a nice equal illusion of symmetry.
Horizontal alignment – the horizontal is when your eyes and teeth are nicely aligned to complete the overall symmetry illusion.
Smile line – this is a key area to get right. Its important to get it so the biting edges of the teeth follow a nice curve of the lower lip. This features helps to contribute to a younger looking smile.
Gum line – equally the gum line is the view at the top of the teeth, and how much gum is shown. You want it to all be in proportion to your teeth.
Smile width – when we naturally smile, we will show a number of our teeth (some people will have naturally broader smiles). For fuller smiles, you want to have your teeth shown in progression.
Embrasures – between our teeth its natural to have a slight triangular gap at the bottom. The gaps should get progressively bigger towards the back teeth for a nice natural look.
Golden proportion – this is very much a mathematical equation to take into consideration. This gives a nice balance to the front 6 teeth for a nice natural looking smile.
Tooth proportion – to get the overall smile right, each tooth needs to have the ideal proportion of width to height ratio (each tooth has a different ideal ratio – for example the front two: 0.7:1).
Tooth shade – there are a number of shades that we can make the veneers, to give you a natural looking smile, to a more cosmetically enhanced look. We really value your input into what you are trying to achieve.
As you can see, creating a beautiful and natural smile is not as straight forward as picking them off from a shelf. Its very much an individual and custom approach for each patient to get to that dream smile.
To find out what your options are, please do not hesitate to book your dental assessment today.