The process of getting porcelain veneers typically involves a few visits. During your first visit, one of our cosmetic dentists will examine your teeth and discuss your goals for treatment. If porcelain veneers are the right option for you, your dentist will create a trial smile at your next visit to show you how your teeth could look after the treatment.

Next, a thin layer of enamel is carefully removed from the front surface of your teeth to make room for the veneers and a digital scan is taken. The scan is sent to a dental laboratory where your custom veneers are created.

Once your veneers are ready, you’ll return to us for the placement procedure. Your dentist will carefully bond the veneers to your teeth using a strong dental adhesive.

Porcelain veneers can be an effective treatment option for many people looking to improve the appearance of their teeth and achieve their dream smile. However, whether porcelain veneers are the right choice for you depends on several factors, including your oral health, the condition of your teeth, and your cosmetic goals.

To determine if porcelain veneers are the right treatment option for you, it’s important to schedule a consultation with your dentist. During your consultation, your dentist will evaluate your oral health and the condition of your teeth, discuss your cosmetic goals, and answer any questions you may have about the treatment.

Some factors that may make you a good candidate for porcelain veneers include:

Discoloured or stained teeth that cannot be effectively treated with teeth whitening
Teeth that are chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged
Gaps between your teeth that you would like to close
Teeth that are misshapen or uneven
A desire for a more symmetrical or aesthetically pleasing smile

It’s important to note that porcelain veneers may not be suitable for everyone. For example, if you have significant tooth decay, gum disease, or other oral health issues, you may need to address these issues before considering porcelain veneers.

This is a common question asked by our patients. The key differences are:

Porcelain is stronger and less likely to fracture or chip
Porcelain is more stain resistant
Porcelain has greater longevity (10-15 years compared to 3-7 years for composite)
Usually some preparation (shaving down) of the teeth is required with porcelain veneers unlike composite where we do zero preparation

Before any preparation of the teeth, one of our dentists will do a smile design for you which is bespoke to each individual. This smile design will be transferred to the mouth to produce a ‘Trial Smile’. This allows you to assess and modify your planned smile before any treatment has been carried out.

This is a common misconception with porcelain veneers. Our dentists have a high degree of technical expertise in this area and aim to do minimal preparation (shaving down) of the teeth during porcelain veneers treatments.

The amount of preparation which is required is influenced by several factors including the starting shade, shape and alignment of the teeth.

The shade of the porcelain cannot be changed by whitening gels. For this reason, it is important to carry out any teeth whitening prior to porcelain veneers treatment. Before starting treatment we will advise you on the colour of porcelain which will best suit you.

Our dentists aim to preserve as much tooth structure as possible so only minimal preparation (shaving down) of the teeth is carried out for porcelain veneers. This means that often the dentists don’t even need to administer local anaesthetic during treatment. It also reduces the risk of tooth sensitivity post-treatment.