Veneers can be used to improve the appearance of your smile by hiding any irregularities in the colour, size, shape and position of your existing teeth to ultimately create that ‘Hollywood Smile’.
Veneers are often employed to:
- eliminate spaces between your teeth that cannot be closed with orthodontics (braces) and correct crooked or poorly positioned teeth;
- restore fractured, chipped or worn away teeth;
- replace stained, discoloured and unsightly fillings;
- hide permanently stained teeth that don’t respond to whitening (i.e. antibiotic stains, fluorosis staining).
There are two types of veneers available:
- Porcelain (ceramic) veneers whereby a thin porcelain shell is created in the image of a well formed tooth and placed over the existing problem tooth to improve its appearance. The advantage of using porcelain is its ability to mimic and blend in with natural teeth due to its somewhat translucent appearance. It may take around two weeks from your initial appointment for the final veneer to be placed by your dentist as the porcelain veneers are created in a laboratory off site.
- Composite resin veneers are made of a combination of nano filler particles and can be built up from the tooth therefore saving time as it can be completed in one appointment. It is more economical than porcelain however is not as durable and requires more regular upkeep and replacement.
