04Aesthetic

Porcelain Veneers

Ultra-thin ceramic veneers shaped to your features, delivering a refined smile without compromising the tooth beneath.

A veneer is a thin ceramic shell bonded to the front of a tooth. Done conservatively, it changes the surface you see and leaves the tooth beneath very largely intact.

Appointments: 3 to 4
Thickness: 0.3 to 0.7 mm
Material: Pressed or layered ceramic
Typical lifespan: 10 to 20 years

Face-led, not tooth-led

A smile is designed against your face: the line of your lip when you talk, the width of your smile, the way light falls on the edges. Teeth designed in isolation are what produce the uniform, too-white look. We start from the person and work inwards.

Minimal preparation

Because the ceramic is between 0.3 and 0.7 mm thick, most cases need only a light reshaping of the enamel, and some need none at all. Preserving the natural tooth is what keeps the option of doing something different in twenty years.

How it goes, step by step.

Smile design and mock-up

Photographs and video of your face at rest and in conversation, then a design proposed against those references.

Trial smile

The design is placed directly on your teeth in temporary material so you can see it, live with it for a day, and change it.

Preparation and bonding

Light preparation where needed, then the finished ceramic is bonded under isolation for a durable seal.

Refinement

Bite checks and polishing, then a review once everything has settled.

Questions we are asked.

Far less than the old reputation suggests. Most cases need a light surface reduction of enamel only, and where the teeth are already worn or set back, we can often bond with no preparation at all.

Yes, and we insist on it. The trial smile puts the proposed design in your mouth in temporary material. Nothing permanent happens until you have seen it on your own face and approved it.

Glazed ceramic does not take up stain the way enamel does. The bonded margin can pick up colour over many years, which normal hygiene visits keep in check.