When it comes to achieving that perfect Hollywood smile, dental veneers have always been the reliable choice for patients and dentists. Veneers are tiny sheets or layers of tooth-colored shells, porcelains, or composite resins that are placed over the facial surface or the front part of the teeth. This dental procedure instantly covers a tooth and hides its damages, including cracks, chips, worn enamel, discolored surfaces, misalignment, or tooth gaps and spaces. However, traditional veneers usually require numerous preparation procedures and at least two dentist appointments to be completed.
Thankfully, there are minimal prep ceramic veneer options that customers can choose from in lieu of traditional veneers. These veneers have almost the same features as traditional veneers, and provide the same functions as well. Some popular brands of minimal and "no prep" ceramic veneers in the market are Lumineers, Vivaneers, and Durathin.
One main difference of minimal prep ceramic veneer options compared to traditional veneers is their thickness. Traditional veneers are somewhat thick and bulky, and they usually require the dentist to reduce the impacted tooth by grinding a portion of the enamel. Depending on the thickness of the porcelain veneers, a Rockville cosmetic dentist may need to reduce a tooth's healthy enamel, or may even extend up to the tooth's dentin so that the veneers will be aligned with the surface of the adjacent teeth, and will not be bulky and chunky.
Minimal prep veneers, on the other hand, are a lot thinner compared to normal porcelain veneers. Most minimal prep veneers are thin enough to be placed over a tooth's surface, so dentists may not need to reduce a patient's tooth by grinding, filing, or cutting the surface. This also means that there is no need for a patient to undergo anesthetic injections for the veneers to be installed in his dentition. Since minimal prep veneers pose minimal damage to a patient's teeth, the process is also reversible. Should a patient decide to have the veneers removed for whatever reason, the dentist can easily remove them.
Another advantage of minimal prep veneers is that they can be installed in a patient's dentition in one dentist visit. Traditional veneers are created in dental laboratories so a patient will need to wear temporary veneers, and go back for a second appointment to have the permanent veneers placed once they are done. Minimal prep veneers are designed to be shaped and placed on a patient's teeth during his first visit to the dentist. This saves time and cost both for the patient and the dentist.
However, despite the numerous advantages of minimal prep ceramic veneer options over traditional ones, not everyone is a candidate for this procedure. Depending on the dentist's assessment of a patient's dental damage, and the overall condition of the patient's dentition, he may discourage using minimal prep veneers, and may recommend traditional veneers, or other dental procedures, that he deems suitable. After all, aside from the aesthetic value of a dental procedure, dentists have to consider how the procedure can help the patient in the long run.