Veneer Installation

Veneers are three-quarter ceramic overlays (crowns) on teeth. Veneers are manufactured in dental laboratories individually for each patient.

Recently, lumineers have also become quite popular, which are essentially the same veneers but manufactured in the USA. The thickness of lumineers is less than that of standard veneers, which is both their advantage and disadvantage at the same time.

Dental veneers can be of any color — there are no restrictions. It is also possible to place one or several veneers matching the color of the patient’s own teeth. Such a request may arise if a patient has a chipped front tooth.

Dental veneers are most commonly installed on both the upper and lower jaw in the visible smile zone — this is the minimum set. Installing veneers on all of a patient’s teeth is also possible, but the price will be significantly higher.

In most cases, patients seek veneers based on aesthetic requirements: when there is a desire to change the shape or color of teeth.

From a medical standpoint, there are two main indications for veneer installation:

• diastemas (gaps between front teeth);
• tremas (spaces between other teeth).

However, these indications also fit within the logic of an aesthetic request, as neither diastemas nor tremas harm the health of the patient’s own teeth. Therefore, when a patient requests veneers, more attention should be paid to the presence of contraindications rather than indications for installation.

Among important contraindications to veneer installation, the following can be highlighted:

• absence of a large number of teeth;
• presence of damage to the inner wall of teeth;
• tendency to pathological tooth wear;
• bruxism (teeth grinding at night);
• severely pronounced teeth curvature.

Sometimes we recommend our patients to combine veneers with ceramic and zirconia crowns. For example: in case of a tendency to pathological tooth wear, crowns are installed on the lateral sections. They align the bite and resist wear. And ceramic veneers can be installed on the front teeth.

Some clinics in Kyiv write about composite veneers, but in the full sense of the word, a “composite veneer” is not really a veneer. A composite veneer can hardly even be called a product, since it refers to intraoral restoration using photopolymer materials. The doctor performs such restoration in the clinic without resorting to a dental laboratory. Meanwhile, ceramic veneers are manufactured in laboratories, making such restoration extraoral.

Veneers can be made from such materials as:

• pressed ceramics;
• zirconium.

Based on our practice, we recommend installing veneers made from pressed ceramics, as they are thinner, can convey the depth of a natural tooth, can be not only any color but also replicate the effect of a semi-transparent tooth edge.

Veneer installation takes place in several stages and appointments with the dentist.

The lifespan of veneers can be very long and depends on personal hygiene and professional hygiene. That is, veneer installation will require periodic professional cleaning at the dentist. At the same time, such cleaning is also needed for the patient’s own teeth.

It is important to note: veneers are not a guarantee that the patient will not develop periodontitis or periodontal disease. Teeth under veneers can also ache.

Options for treating a tooth under a veneer:

• through micro-access. If the tooth can be treated through micro-access, a small hole is made in the veneer, which is then sealed with photopolymer material;
• with veneer replacement. Sometimes it becomes necessary to remove the veneer, perform treatment, and then fabricate and install a new veneer.

Veneers have become very popular, so many clinics in Kyiv widely offer them. Advertising has played a significant role in popularizing veneers, as the word “veneer” sounds better and more prestigious to many patients than “ceramic crown.”

Also in Kyiv, many doctors justify veneer installation by saying that less tissue will need to be removed and the possibility of keeping the patient’s own tooth “alive” will remain. However, when installing a ceramic or zirconia crown, exactly the same amount of tissue is removed as when installing veneers, and the tooth also remains “alive.”

At the same time, the price of veneers is significantly higher than that of crowns. This is due to the fact that it is much more difficult for the doctor to make veneers compared to crowns. In the capital, the price of a veneer per tooth averages 20 thousand hryvnias. The cost of veneer installation will also depend on the materials and the degree of complexity of the work at the preparatory stage.

Ceramic crowns have a number of significant advantages compared to veneers:

• crowns protect the tooth from all sides, while veneers only from three;
• crowns can be installed on crooked teeth, while veneers can only be placed on slightly crooked teeth;
• unlike veneers, crowns can restore bite functionality;
• prices for crowns are lower than prices for veneers.

Strictly speaking, veneers have no advantages compared to crowns. Veneer installation is performed exclusively at the patient’s request in the absence of direct contraindications. At Osadchyi Dental Clinic, we recommend taking a balanced approach to the decision about veneer installation and familiarizing yourself with the advantages of ceramic crowns.