Veneers

PORCELAIN VENEER

A porcelain veneer is a white translucent ceramic that mimics natural teeth extremely well. To provide strength the porcelain veneer must be of a minimal thickness and so to create space, less than 1mm of the surface of the tooth must be removed. An impression of the prepared tooth is taken and sent to a dental technician to create your custom made veneer from porcelain and a temporary veneer may be placed while you wait. A couple of weeks later your porcelain veneer will be ready to be bonded onto the prepared tooth. Our local experienced ceramic technician will take a tooth shade to ensure ultimate aesthetics.

Because porcelain is hard and smooth, porcelain veneers are better able to resist discolouration and are durable. However, the placement of a porcelain veneer is not reversible due to the minimal removal of tooth structure. Some patients may also experience tooth sensitivity post placement.

Porcelain is very brittle and can fracture under excessive forces, which is often not repairable. Excessive forces that may exclude your suitability for porcelain veneers include nail biting or clenching, and grinding of teeth.

COMPOSITE VENEER

An affordable and conservative alternative to a porcelain veneer is a composite veneer. Composite resin is a tooth coloured material made of a synthetic plastic and glass matrix, a material used for tooth fillings.

The veneer is handcrafted by your dentist by bonding and curing thin layers of composite resin to the tooth. The tooth is then polished to produce an improved looking tooth. One of the advantages of composite is that if the veneer were to fracture under excessive force they are relatively easy to repair.

If you would like to arrange your initial consultation or you wish to understand more about dental veneers please contact us at our Mount Maunganui or Te Puke practice.