Dental veneers are thin, custom-made shells used to correct various cosmetic issues, such as discoloration, chips, minor misalignment, and uneven spacing. For the final veneer to look natural and not appear bulky or artificially thick, a small amount of the tooth’s outer layer, the enamel, must be removed. This preparation creates the necessary space for the veneer material to sit flush with the surrounding teeth and ensures the restoration can be securely bonded to the tooth structure.
Planning the New Smile
The dentist first conducts a thorough examination of the patient’s oral health, checking for issues like gum disease or decay that must be addressed beforehand. High-resolution photographs, X-rays, and digital scans are used to gather data on the current tooth position, bite alignment, and facial symmetry. These records allow the dental team to design a smile that complements the patient’s unique facial features.
The creation of a diagnostic wax-up, where a dental laboratory technician models the proposed new smile in wax on a replica of the patient’s teeth, is a key step. This wax model is then used to create a temporary, reversible mock-up, often made of a tooth-colored resin, which the dentist can temporarily place directly onto the patient’s unprepared teeth. The mock-up allows the patient and dentist to visualize and evaluate the final shape, length, and contours of the proposed veneers before any irreversible step is taken. This visualization tool is also used as a precise guide for the dentist, indicating exactly where and how much enamel needs to be reduced to achieve the desired outcome.
Reshaping the Enamel
Once the design is approved, the physical tooth preparation begins. The area is first numbed using a local anesthetic. The preparation involves removing a minimal and uniform layer of enamel from the front surface of the tooth to create space for the veneer. The depth of this reduction is highly specific, typically ranging between 0.3 millimeters to 1.0 millimeter, depending on the severity of the underlying cosmetic issue being corrected.
The dentist uses specialized diamond burs to make initial depth-limiting cuts in the enamel. These cuts act as guides to ensure the reduction is uniform across the entire tooth surface, preventing over-reduction in certain areas. Preserving the enamel is a priority because bonding the veneer to the enamel layer provides a much stronger and more durable attachment than bonding to the softer underlying dentin.
Defining the margin, or the finish line of the preparation, creates precise, smooth edges. This margin is often a gentle, rounded groove known as a chamfer, created slightly above or at the gumline using a fine-grit diamond bur. This precise finish line is necessary for the dental laboratory to fabricate a veneer that seamlessly meets the tooth structure without any visible ledge or gap. The entire reshaping process is controlled and meticulous, focused on creating an ideal surface for the strongest possible bond and a natural-looking final result.
Impression Taking and Temporary Veneers
After the enamel has been reshaped, the next step involves capturing the exact contours of the prepared teeth for the dental laboratory. This is typically done using one of two methods: traditional impression material or modern digital scanning. Increasingly, dentists use an intraoral scanner, a handheld device that takes thousands of photos to create a highly accurate, three-dimensional digital model of the patient’s mouth.
This precise model, whether physical or digital, is then sent to the lab where the custom veneers are fabricated, a process that usually takes a couple of weeks. During this waiting period, the dentist places temporary veneers onto the prepared teeth. These temporary restorations serve several important functions, including protecting the exposed, sensitive tooth surfaces and preventing adjacent teeth from shifting into the newly created space. They also provide a temporary aesthetic solution, allowing the patient to maintain a presentable smile while awaiting the permanent restorations.
Patients need to follow specific care instructions to ensure the temporary veneers remain intact, as they are secured with a weaker, temporary cement. Maintaining these temporary restorations is important for comfort and to hold the space for the final, permanent veneers.
Temporary Care Instructions
- It is advisable to avoid hard, sticky, or chewy foods, which could dislodge or damage the temporary shells.
- When brushing, patients should use a soft toothbrush.
- Flossing must be done carefully.
- Pull the floss through the contact point rather than snapping it up, to prevent lifting the temporary veneer from the tooth.