What to Expect When You're Considering Veneers

Veneers get talked about a great deal and explained rather less. Most of the visible discussion happens in a marketing register (transformations, packages, results), which leaves the practical questions unanswered: what actually happens, what does it commit you to, and what should you be asking before you agree.

This article covers the process honestly, including the parts that are permanent. It is general information only and is not a substitute for a consultation, and nothing here predicts what any individual would achieve.

What a veneer is

A veneer is a thin custom-made shell, usually porcelain, bonded to the front surface of a tooth. It can change the colour, shape and, within limits, the apparent alignment of the teeth it covers.

It is a facing, not a full cover. That distinguishes it from a crown, which encases the whole tooth and is used for structural reasons rather than appearance. Our article on when a tooth needs a crown covers that distinction.

The consultation comes first, and it matters

A proper first appointment should spend more time on your teeth and on what you actually want than on treatment packages. Reasonably it involves:

• Understanding the specific concern. “I don’t like my smile” needs unpacking into what exactly: the colour, a particular tooth, the shape of the edges, how much gum shows.
• A health assessment. Decay, gum disease and failing restorations are dealt with before cosmetic work. Bonding porcelain to a compromised foundation is a poor investment.
• Checking the bite and looking for wear. If your front teeth are worn, something caused it, and porcelain placed over an unresolved grinding habit is at risk.
• A discussion of the alternatives. Sometimes whitening alone addresses the concern. Sometimes bonding does, with far less commitment. Sometimes moving the teeth is the more conservative answer.
• Being clear about what is realistic. Including, where it applies, that a particular hope is not achievable.

If a first appointment goes straight to how many veneers and how much, that is worth noticing.

The part that is permanent

This is the section to read twice.

Porcelain veneers usually require some enamel to be removed from the front of the tooth, to make room for the shell so it sits flush rather than bulking the tooth forward, and to give a surface the porcelain bonds to reliably.

Enamel does not regenerate. Once a tooth has been prepared for a veneer, it will generally need a veneer or a crown from then on. If a veneer chips or debonds in fifteen years, the answer is a new veneer, not going back to how the tooth was.

The amount removed varies with the case. Some situations allow very conservative preparation; others (particularly where a tooth needs to appear moved, or is being lengthened) require more. Ask specifically how much enamel your teeth would need to lose, on which teeth, and why.

This is not an argument against veneers. It is an argument for making the decision with the information, and for considering whether a reversible option such as bonding would address enough of the concern.

The sequence

1. Planning. Photographs, scans or impressions, sometimes a wax-up or digital mock-up showing proposed shape. Some situations allow a trial version placed temporarily in the mouth so you can see the shape before anything is prepared. Ask whether that is possible in yours.

2. Whitening, if it is part of the plan. Porcelain is made to a chosen shade and does not lighten later, so any whitening of the surrounding natural teeth happens first and is allowed to stabilise.

3. Preparation. The teeth are shaped and a final scan or impression is taken.

4. Temporaries. Provisional veneers protect the prepared teeth and let you live with the proposed shape for a couple of weeks. Take that seriously: speaking and eating with them tells you things a mirror does not. Say so if something feels wrong.

5. Fitting. The finished veneers are tried in, checked for fit, shade and bite, then bonded. Adjustments are made at this stage.

Living with them

• They can chip. Porcelain is hard but brittle. Biting fingernails, opening packaging with your teeth, or chewing ice puts them at risk.
• A night splint is often recommended if you grind or clench.
• The margins need cleaning. The join at the gum line is where problems begin, exactly as with crowns.
• The porcelain does not stain much, but the natural tooth and margins can.
• They are not permanent. They need replacing eventually, and that is a cost to plan for rather than be surprised by.

Questions worth asking

• How much enamel would be removed, on which teeth?
• Would bonding address enough of what bothers me, given it is largely reversible?
• Can I see a mock-up or trial before anything is prepared?
• What is causing the wear on my front teeth, and is that being addressed?
• What happens if one chips in five years?
• How many teeth genuinely need treating, and why that number?

That last question matters. A common pattern is a concern about two teeth being answered with a proposal for eight or ten, on the reasoning that matching is easier across a wider span. Sometimes that is genuinely the better result; sometimes it is scope creep. It is fair to ask for the reasoning.

On advertising and expectations

Dental advertising in Australia is regulated under the National Law. Practices may not use patient testimonials or before-and-after images to promote treatment, so a practice showing you galleries of other people’s results is not operating within those rules.

The more useful conversation is about your teeth: their shape, their condition, what is realistic, and what you would be committing to. This is also why we tend to steer towards the least irreversible option that addresses the concern, an approach we set out in our article on small changes rather than a makeover.

Canberra’s inner north is a young, well-educated catchment (Braddon’s median age is 30 and around 65 per cent of residents hold a bachelor’s degree or above on the 2021 Census), and in our experience that tends to mean people would rather have the trade-offs explained than be sold a result. That suits us.

Cosmetic dentistry at Dental Embassy

Dental Embassy is on Northbourne Avenue in Braddon, a short walk or light rail trip from Civic. If you are thinking about veneers, the sensible first step is a conversation about what specifically you would like to change and an assessment of whether veneers are the right way to get there.

You can read more on our cosmetic dentistry page, call us on 1300 000 230, or get in touch to arrange a consultation.