A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain bonded to the front of a tooth. It changes the colour, shape, size or alignment of what people see when you smile, while leaving most of your own tooth in place underneath.
People imagine the process as dramatic, and it simply is not. For most cases it is two comfortable appointments a couple of weeks apart. Here is what each one is actually like.
It starts with your face, not a drill
The first real step is a design conversation. We look at your teeth, listen to what bothers you and what you want, and plan the shape and shade that suits your face rather than a one-size Hollywood look. A lot of people arrive worried about ending up with big, fake, too-white teeth, and this is the stage where that fear gets put to rest.
We take photographs and a scan or impression, and from those we can often show you a preview of the result before any treatment is committed to.
Preparing the teeth: what it feels like
At the preparation visit, a very thin layer is usually removed from the front of each tooth to make room for the porcelain, so the veneer sits flush and natural rather than bulky. The tooth is numbed with local anaesthetic first, so you feel no pain while it is done, just a little movement and water.
Some modern veneers need almost no preparation at all. Which approach suits you depends on your teeth, and we talk it through before anything happens, because a veneer that removes less tooth is always preferred where it will give the right result.
The gap between visits
Your veneers are made in a dental laboratory to the exact design, which takes a couple of weeks. In the meantime you wear temporary veneers, so you are never walking around with prepared teeth on show. The temporaries also let you test-drive the new shape and tell us if you want anything adjusted before the final ones are made.
Day to day you eat and talk normally on them. They are not as strong as the finished porcelain, so we ask you to go easy on very hard or sticky food until the real ones are on.
The day they go on
At the fit appointment we take the temporaries off and try the finished veneers in place first, so you can see them before anything is permanent. When you are happy, each one is bonded to the tooth with a strong adhesive and cured. The bite is checked and fine-tuned, and the edges polished.
This visit is usually comfortable and often needs little or no anaesthetic. You walk out with the finished smile that day.
Living with them, and the honest trade-offs
Veneers are looked after like natural teeth: normal brushing and flossing, regular check-ups, and a nightguard if you grind in your sleep. Looked after, good porcelain veneers last many years.
The honest part: preparing a tooth for a veneer is not reversible, so it is a considered decision rather than a whim, and that is exactly why we spend time on the design before we start. We set out the full fee in writing beforehand, and because veneers are often done across several teeth at once, we are clear about the total rather than a per-tooth figure that climbs.
Seeing what suits you
The best way to know whether veneers are right for you is a consultation where we look at your actual teeth and talk through the options, which may include whitening or bonding instead. We are at 12 Lake Esplanade in central Queenstown, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with free parking at the door. Ring 03 441 8248 or enquire through the site.
General information, not a diagnosis. Written and reviewed by Dr Adrian Paul, BDS (Otago), principal dentist at Lakeside Dental Practice, Queenstown. If something is worrying you, see a dentist.
