Dr. Sam, will it be expensive to get porcelain veneers?

Answer:

No, because what else can you get that will enhance your personal image for the rest of your life?  I have had patients get their promotion that increased their income because they appeared more professional.  I have had patients find romance after getting porcelain veneers (of course their teeth were very unattractive) before treatment.  Porcelain veneers improve your self esteem and make you appear more intelligent and professional.  Of course, nice people will always be more desirable but nice people that look healthy are even more desirable.  In my experience, porcelain veneers are probably the least expensive, least invasive, life changing treatment that also protects your teeth if they were done non-invasively.  My Dad’s porcelain veneers lasted over 25 years and served him very well as he looked better, his tooth wear stopped, no cavities and much less tooth sensitivity, plus he looked better than any 88 year old man in the city!  The benefits of porcelain veneers made them look very inexpensive.

Do porcelain veneers stain?

Answer:

No, high quality porcelain veneers do not stain deeply.  They can get surface stains that are easily polished off when the teeth are cleaned.  But, if the porcelain veneer is porous, or contains resin, the veneer itself will discolor over time and stain deeply.  My office only offers the best porcelain and the best ceramist in order to provide porcelain veneer that can last as long as possible.

Can porcelain veneers be whitened?

Answer:

Yes and no.  If the type of porcelain used changed color then it can’t be whitened.  Some of the cheaper porcelain veneers actually have resin combined with the porcelain.  This type of veneer turns yellow over time and looses it integrity.  They cannot be whitened.  However, if the porcelain is high quality, the porcelain did not change color.  The reason they may not look as white is because the tooth under the porcelain got yellow over time.  In this case, the teeth can be whitened from the back side which will make the porcelain veneers appear whiter again.

Can composite resin bonded teeth have porcelain veneers?

Answer:

Yes but you have to remove all of the resin bonded material before the impression is taken.  All of the resin must be removed and only tooth enamel is remaining.  The dentist must use magnification dentistry to remove the resin bonding material in order to preserve the patient’s tooth structure.  The dentist could damage the teeth without high magnification during the resin removal.

Can 14 year olds get porcelain veneers?

Answer:

Yes, 14 year olds can get porcelain veneers but it would be best to make sure that there is very little to no grinding on the natural teeth.  Additionally, the bite of the younger patients should be corrected as the porcelain veneers are being made.  Porcelain veneers can be a huge improvement for younger patients as their self esteem is so important.

Younger people with crooked, yellow teeth have more negative behavior that younger people with nice looking teeth.  There are no health disadvantages if the porcelain veneers and done by a highly experienced and skilled dentist.  The most important part of treating younger patients is the type of porcelain being used.  There are many different types of porcelain that are made cheaply and will not last nearly as long and hold their color nearly as long as high quality porcelain, a skilled ceramist and an experienced, artistically and technically skilled dentist

How expensive are porcelain veneers?

Answer:

There are many different types of porcelain veneers that are marketed today and there are also many dental ceramists that have a wide range of skills.  You may pick the right material but the ceramist doesn’t give good quality.  You can pick the best dental ceramist but the wrong type of porcelain veneer for the patient.  The result is fake looking teeth.

I have found that in my office, I work with one dental ceramist and he and I work together on every patient.  I actually work on the porcelain myself and both of us discuss the type of porcelain that would work best on each patient.  Sometimes I need to bring him into the office to see the patient personally in order for both of us to pick the porcelain and decide how to prepare that teeth to utilize the best characteristics of the type of porcelain that we chose to use.  It all depends on the color of the patient teeth, the size of the teeth, the patient bite and the patients expectations on how natural and how white they want their teeth to appear.  Some types of porcelain are better for hiding dark teeth and other types of porcelain transfer light for a clean natural look.

How much of my teeth should be ground down prior to porcelain veneers?

Answer:

In the most ideal situation, no tooth structure is removed.  The porcelain veneer is bonding to the patient’s tooth enamel.  All of the tooth structure is saved and in fact, the porcelain veneer actually protects the patients natural tooth structure for many years.  Imagine aging 30 years and visualizing how your teeth could look.  Over 30 years, teeth wear down, the enamel turns yellow, and the tooth structure gets thinner and chips.  All of this tooth wear is eliminated with porcelain veneers protecting the patient teeth.  The porcelain veneer takes the 30 year of wear and abuse.  

Sometimes it is indicated to remove some of the patients tooth structure if the teeth are crooked.  Porcelain veneers can provide instant braces in just 2 weeks.  The patient can have straight white teeth in just two weeks but some minor amounts of tooth structure are removed.

Dr Sam, what is the life expectancy of porcelain venners? My doctor claims that unless I get the best quality I may have to replace them after 5 or 10 years.

Answer:

The two most important factors that determine how long porcelain veneers last are the bonding technique used by the dentist and the skill level of the dentist.  There are many different dental bonding kits by each manufacturer and there are many different manufacturers and there are many combinations of materials in the kits.  Additionally there are over 7 generations of dental bonding materials kits that have been developed that add even more confusion as dentists try to keep up with the new products.

Unfortunately, most of the new products were designed to save the dentist time and sacrificed bonding strength.  The newest products are actually weaker than the first generation bonding materials.  The dentist finds that his or her porcelain veneers do not last because they don’t know that the material they are using is weak.

The technique used by the dentist has to be meticulously perfect.  Dental bonding is either perfect or it fails.  In my dental office, we see more and more patients that just had porcelain veneers placed that keep falling off.  These patient are frustrated and angry.  Their dentist may not have good enough technique skills and/or may be using inferior dental bonding materials.  After successfully bonding porcelain veneers for over 25 years, my oldest porcelain veneer case lasted 26 years before the patient passed away.  Not one porcelain veneer broke off or chipped during the 25 years.  My best advice is to pick the experienced dentist, because they are worth it.

Dr. Sam, how long should porcelain veneers last? I’ve had mine for 4 months and now the one has cracked. My dentist said this is normal and is prepared to replace it free of charge but said he would have to make it thicker to prevent the problem from happening again. I read Samantha’s bad porcelain veneers story on your website and I am worried about my teeth becoming too bulky. Are there thin veneers that are stronger than others?

Answer:

Porcelain veneers can last for over 25 years without at chip or a crack.  Your dentist is willing to replace it and that is an honorable gesture.  I am not convinced that making it thicker will make it last longer because a well bonded porcelain veneer is very strong.

It would be better if the dentist could try it again with minimal grinding of your natural tooth.  Perhaps this time, more attention to detail could keep the porcelain veneer from cracking rather than grinding down good tooth structure unnecessarily.

Dr Sam, after many years I decided to have something done about my chipped front teeth. The solution offered was to place 4 porcelain veneers on my front teeth. This looked great – but after two weeks I woke up one morning and found the one veneer fell off. Then a few days alter I discovered a hairline crack in another veneer. I went back to my dentist who then told me that my teeth grinding is too severe and that he should rather place crowns over my teeth. Do you think this is the right solution?

Answer:

It would be a shame to have your four front teeth ground down for crowns just because your front teeth were chipped. The dentist should have known that you grind your teeth before he or she recommended porcelain veneers. If the dentist knew in advance, then the design of the porcelain veneers could be such that they do not break.

Additionally, there is a huge difference in the dental bonding skills between dentists. They all may have good intentions, but some dentists are better skilled than others and it makes a big difference in how long your porcelain veneers will last.