Porcelain Veneers and Composite Veneers in Mill Woods, Southeast Edmonton
We all covet a beautiful smile that helps us feel confident and make a lasting impression. Acquiring cosmetic dentistry treatment tailored to your aesthetic preferences is the best way to achieve this. Though there are multiple services you can explore, one treatment that is especially effective is getting tooth veneers.
We offer dental veneers at our local clinic. If you’re interested in learning more about this, call our dentist near you today.
What are Veneers?
Veneers are extremely thin, tooth-coloured shells cemented to the front surface of your teeth. They are trimmed to meet your dimensions, concealing imperfections, and enhancing your smile.
Benefits of Dental Veneers
Perhaps the biggest advantage of veneers is the improvement in one’s smile, making it brighter and more symmetrical. Veneers are made individually for each tooth, and being very thin and tooth-coloured, they look quite natural, making it difficult to tell them apart from the rest of your original teeth. This is why many patients choose to undergo this form of cosmetic dentistry.
With veneers, more of your original tooth structure is retained compared to a dental crown, which is commonly used to strengthen heavily decayed or broken-down teeth. This treatment is an effective option when it comes to correcting minor cosmetic issues such as:
- Broken, chipped, or cracked teeth.
- Severe discoloration and other teeth colouring issues that cannot be fixed with whitening.
- Diastema (gaps or spaces between teeth)
- Lengthening teeth that are smaller than average or worn down due to grinding to produce a uniform smile.
- Correct/conceal misshapen teeth (pointed, crooked, unusually shaped).
Types of Dental Veneers
Patients can receive two main types of veneers: porcelain and composite. Upon conducting a detailed examination, your dentist in Millwoods will recommend the most appropriate option depending on the level of care your smile requires, budget, treatment time, and preferences. It is important to remember that dental veneers are best suited for individuals who do not have many cavities and are not dealing with gum disease.
Porcelain Veneers
As indicated by the name, porcelain veneers are crafted from high-quality dental porcelain, a combination of quartz, feldspar, and kaolin. This material is easily shaped to match the width, length, and appearance of your teeth. Porcelain veneers are especially known for their durability against daily wear and tear.
The Process
Should you choose to go ahead and acquire porcelain veneers, the following steps will take place upon visiting your dentist:
Step 1: A consultation with your cosmetic dentist will take place so they can understand and make note of your desired enhancements. To help with treatment planning and to help you decide, the dentist may create a digital imaging mock-up so you can see how your new smile will look.
Step 2: After a treatment plan has been put in place, a small amount of your enamel will be etched off the front and sides of the teeth to which the veneers would be attached.
Step 3: You and your dentist deicide on the shade of the veneer which should match as closely as possible to your natural teeth. Please note at Agape Dental Clinic, to ensure the patient is onboard with the shade chosen, we send the patient to the lab working on the veneers where the patient would choose the shade chairside with the lab technician.
Step 4: The dentist then takes digital impressions using a 3D scanner. These are then sent to a lab, guiding technicians as they create your veneers in 1-2 weeks. Your dentist might give you temporary veneers until your permanent shells are ready.
Step 5: When the lab returns your permanent veneers, your dentist will confirm that the fit, shape, and colour meet your preferences. Then, the shell is bonded to the surface of your tooth with a special resin.
A couple of appointments are needed to place porcelain veneers. Be patient during the treatment; your results will be worth it!
Pros and Cons
Porcelain veneers is a cosmetic service that provides recipients with multiple benefits, including:
- Strength. Porcelain veneers are known for their strength against daily grinding, wear, and tear. They are also resistant to chips and staining. If looked after properly, they can last for over a decade. Material used, both for the veneer and cementing contribute to the longevity of the veneer. Lifespan can increase or decrease depending on how it is cared for and maintained. Oral hygiene and regular profession cleaning contribute to the lifespan of composite veneers.
- Appearance. Porcelain very closely matches the aesthetic of a natural tooth.
- Versatility. Porcelain veneers are also known for their versatility, making them a viable treatment option for nearly all cosmetic concerns, such as severe spacing.
- Custom-made. Your dentist will work with you to ensure your veneers meet your personal preferences. They will also be carefully trimmed and shaped to fit over your teeth seamlessly.
It is important to be aware of the potential drawbacks as well:
- Irreversible. The treatment is irreversible because some of your enamel is removed, so always make sure you’re satisfied with your decision.
- Takes Time. Since the veneers are fabricated in an external lab, it can take a few appointments for them to be made and placed.
- Harder to Repair. Mending porcelain veneers can be time-consuming, challenging, and expensive.
- More Expensive. Porcelain veneers can be costly, especially if you want to acquire shells for multiple teeth.
Composite Veneers
Composite veneers near you are fashioned from composite resin. Like their porcelain counterparts, they can also be sculpted to address multiple issues with your smile. That said, working with a dentist with experience shaping resin is important.
At Agape Dental Clinic near you, we use both Direct Composite Veneers, often referred to as Dental Bonding or Indirect Composite Veneers which involves a lab. The option selected depends on the extent of the correction needed, whether only a part of the tooth needs to be fixed or whole tooth needs to be covered.
Material
Composite resin is used to design composite veneers. Unlike porcelain, however, which is very durable, this material is most likely to chip and is approximately 5% weaker. Additionally, these veneers do not resemble natural teeth as well as porcelain; teeth that are extremely stained or discoloured may still appear slightly dark.
Pros and Cons
Once again, there are several benefits to getting veneers made from composite over porcelain, and they are:
- Quick Treatment. Direct composite veneers or composite bonding can be done in one visit though indirect composite veneers which involves a lab do require more than one visit. However, with direct composite veneer or composite bonding you can have your veneers applied, trimmed, and polished in one session so you can show off your brand-new smile that same day.
- Reversible. This is arguably the biggest advantage of composite veneers. Composite veneers require minimal prep work so more of your natural tooth structure, especially the enamel, is retained, so the composite material can be easily removed to allow for application of new or different treatments in the future if so desired.
- More Affordable as Less Costly. Composite resin, the material used to make composite veneers, is a less expensive material, reducing the cost of composite veneers.
- Simple to Maintain. Like porcelain veneers, patients just need to practice a daily dental regime for their veneers to last.
- All Ages. Patients of all ages can get composite veneers, and this includes children.
Some of the drawbacks of composite veneers are:
- Appearance. Composite veneers look great, but porcelain veneers are much better for achieving a natural appearance.
- Staining. These types of shells are more porous and therefore more prone to staining and discoloration. Tea, coffee, mouthwash, and acidic fruits are just a few things that can cause this.
- Replacement due to shorter lifespan. Composite shells typically have a shorter life span as compared to porcelain veneers, ranging around 5 years. Material used, both for the veneer and cementing contribute to the longevity of the veneer. Lifespan can increase or decrease depending on how it is cared for and maintained. Oral hygiene and regular profession cleaning contribute to the lifespan of composite veneers.
- Minor Fixes. While this veneer type can also address a range of issues, they do not address major issues like significant gaps between teeth or major discolouration.
- Less natural looking. Whereas porcelain veneers create stunning, natural looking smiles, composite veneers are not as natural looking though with new materials and new techniques, the appearance and lifespan has improved and likely to continue improving.
3M Filtek Matrix
The 3M Filtek Matrix system is used to treat conditions such as peg laterals, severe spaces, and to create resin composite veneers. It is a digital 3D-printed Matrix system which begins with a digital restoration design. As the matrix is laboratory designed and fabricated, it starts with lab records, which are submitted, along with scans, photographs and prescription details to the 3M laboratory using 3M oral care portal. The designer designs the case and sends images to the clinic for approval, and once approved, the veneers are fabricated and sent to the clinic.
This method offers:
- Predictability. The results obtained match the digital design, helping dentists treat patients with confidence and a high level of precision.
- Aesthetics. Treatment results match the unique aesthetic requirements of each patient, such as shade, shape, and opacity.
- Efficient. Compared to the routine hands-free technique, this is a solution that helps save time and effort.
- Conservative. Patients’ healthy tooth structure is maintained each time.
Come into Agape Dental to Transform Your Smile
If you’re ready to illuminate your smile and are curious to learn more about dental veneers, contact us today! We can help you book a consultation with our dentist in Millwoods, who will gladly review your case and discuss treatment choices. See you soon!
