What are Porcelain Veneers?
Porcelain veneers are thin wafers of porcelain, about half a millimeter thick (the thickness of a fingernail) that are bonded onto the front of teeth to create a smile makeover. They create a beautiful result. Porcelain mimics tooth structure better than any other restorative material. It is harder than enamel, so it resists wear and can last for many years. Dental artists can manipulate the color and translucency to re-create the look of any tooth. And it resists stain better than tooth enamel. Very rarely will it discolor, unless the surface has been damaged.
Some advertising creates the false impression that placing porcelain veneers requires that your teeth be "ground down". It would be more accurate to say that your teeth are shaved a little. The amount of reduction is minimal and doesn't damage the teeth. The picture on the right shows how thin they are and how a prepared tooth looks very much like an unprepared tooth.

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A beautiful smile makeoverwith porcelain veneers created by Dr. David Hall,author of this website

Porcelain veneers should be placed by an expert cosmetic dentist
General dentists tend to be very inartistic. What attracts them to dentistry is that they like to fix things. However, placing porcelain veneers is art. It is a very demanding art form. A dentist needs to be an artist to do them well. My estimate is that 98 to 99 percent of dentists don't have the artistic passion required to create a beautiful smile. And they don't have the passion required to motivate them to attend the extensive continuing education required past dental school to master the techniques involved. Click here to find a cosmetic dentist with the artistic passion and training to be able to create a new smile.
Let me illustrate this lack of artistic sensitivity in the dental profession with an incident that I viewed on a popular online dental forum. A dentist posed a situation: A beautiful woman who was his patient had a large space between her front teeth. It was large enough, he said, that he could fit an extra tooth in the space, so he asked about the feasibility of placing a dental implant there. There followed a discussion of whether there would be enough bone to support this, how long it would last, and whether orthodontics would work better. I came into the discussion late and was the only dentist participating in the forum to have a serious problem with how this would look. This is typical with dentists—they are generally great, sincere people but have little artistic sense.
Can you imagine going to a technician dentist to get a new smile with porcelain veneers when that dentist thinks that having three front teeth instead of two looks okay? But that is what happens, and my e-mail files are full of complaints from disappointed patients who, after getting a smile makeover from their family dentist, are wondering why it doesn't look beautiful and sparkly like they expected.
What can be accomplished with Porcelain Veneers
before after
Many problems with your teeth can be solved with porcelain veneers. As shown on the left, they are great for restoring worn or chipped teeth.
They can be used to cover stained teeth. If you have tetracycline teeth stains, this is the only way to get a beautiful smile. And while whitening works for many other types of stains, with porcelain veneers your dentist/artist has the ability to control the exact shade and to also alter the shapes of the teeth.
They can also be used to close spaces between the teeth, or to lengthen the teeth.
And they can also be an alternative to braces. Some people call them "instant orthodontics" because with porcelain veneers you can have your teeth straightened in two appointments rather than waiting one to three years for regular orthodontic treatment.
Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question about this or any other cosmetic dentistry topic.
Other porcelain veneers information:
Lumineers are extra tough porcelain veneers that can be made very thin and bonded to the front of the teeth without having to grind on the teeth beforehand. They are made by Den-Mat. They are popular with non-expert cosmetic dentists, because the technical aspects of placing them are easy. We warn you to be cautious in responding to ads about Lumineers. Doing them right requires a lot of artistic ability, so it's important to go to an expert cosmetic dentist.
See photographs of extreme makeover cosmetic dentistry. You will marvel at what can be done by talented cosmetic dentists.
Learn about one-appointment Cerec porcelain veneers. Dr. George Mantell, in Tucson, has patients fly into Tucson and get a new smile in a single four-hour appointment.
One patient asks, "I'm getting stains on the edges of my porcelain veneers. How can I get rid of those?"
Our cosmetic dentistry costs page has fee survey information about cosmetic dentistry costs.
Some general dentists say porcelain veneers don't last. Do they?
Read some of the href="http://www.mynewsmile.com/horrorstories.htm">cosmetic dentistry horror stories we've received through e-mails from our visitors., where he answers questions from visitors.

cosmetic dentistry

Smile Makeover

There are several ways to do a smile makeover. We'll explain them here.
The most common is with porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are applied to the fronts of front teeth. To do them right, a cosmetic dentist will probably shave a small amount of enamel from the fronts of your teeth and then bond on the porcelain with special bonding techniques that holds it so tightly, it almost becomes like an integral part of your tooth.
A Smile Makeover Would Help
A survey taken by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry several years ago reveals that, while people think a great smile is important, half feel their own smile could use some work.
A Smile Makeover Is Art
One mistake people make is going to their family dentist or the dentist down the street for this type of work. In reality, only a small percentage of dentists are artistic enough to create a beautiful smile design. You need to understand that dentists tend to be technician-types. They chose dentistry as a profession because they like to fix things. And that is what they're taught in dental school. You break a tooth—a dentist fixes it.

To do a beautiful smile makeover, a dentist needs a passion for beauty and a personality that loves to create things of beauty. Only 1% or 2% of dentists have this artistic inclination. Those that do will pursue additional training after dental school to learn the skills necessary to create smiles - special bonding techniques, training in color manipulation, an understanding of the special materials that are used in this highly specialized area of dentistry.

And to make things more difficult for the consumer, cosmetic dentistry isn't a legally separate specialty. The view of the majority of dentists is that a smile makeover isn't a big deal and doesn't require special training. But it is and it does. Our advice: consult our find a cosmetic dentist section for a list of dentists who are artistic and have the extensive additional training to do this well.
Below is an example of a smile makeover done by an expert cosmetic dentist in our referral network, Dr. Partha Sarathi of Tirupati Partha Dental. We estimate that only 1 or 2 percent of dentists are artistic enough to create a beautiful smile like this.
Linda Before Picture
Linda After Picture

Case #1 - This woman is missing one lateral incisor.
Click on the photo to enlarge the picture.

Case #1 - With a skillfully done combination of porcelain veneers and a dental implant by Dr. Nelson, you can't tell it's a false tooth.
Click on the photo to enlarge the picture.
Smile Makeover Options
Here are different cosmetic dentistry techniques that can be used to give you a smile makeover:
Porcelain veneers, as explained above, is the most common method. A small amount of tooth structure is shaved from the front of your teeth, and then beautiful porcelain veneers are bonded to them, creating the shape, color, and alignment of teeth that you desire.
Lumineers are a brand of porcelain veneers that are advertised heavily. They are promoted as not requiring any tooth reduction beforehand. However, other brands of porcelain veneers can also be placed without any tooth reduction. Lumineers are a tiny bit thinner than other brands: 0.3 millimeter instead of 0.5, so they do lend themselves more easily to a no-preparation technique. But many Lumineers are also placed on prepared teeth.

Tooth whitening can be used just to lighten the teeth - if you're happy with their shape and position. You may also want to read about Laser whitening.
Invisalign is another smile makeover technique. With invisible braces, your teeth can be made straight. Many people combine this treatment with tooth whitening for a complete smile makeover.
Some people want to have dental bonding used to create a new smile. While this can be cheaper than porcelain veneers, when dental bonding is used over a large area, it only looks good for a year or two. Compared to porcelain veneers, that can look good for ten or twenty years, dental bonding ends up being very expensive.