What are veeners like?

Question

my dentist as recommend a veener to me after chipping a tooth, so i'm not one of those vain simon cowell wannabes.

i'm getting on nhs price too (£340) - how much should a veener usually cost?

just wondering what they are like?, strength, lifespan, looks?

oh right, yeah it might be a private veener then as i'm getting other treatment too - an implant which is going to sit next to the veener.

will they both look ok next to each other?

Answer 1

A veneer is like half of a crown it covers the buccal surface of the tooth or the front of the tooth. They are used to cover chipped or yellow or even crooked teeth. The doctor "shaves" off the front of your tooth and makes several molds. Then the molds are sent to the lab and they create them there. They are then cemented on. I advise you to cut your apples and try to avoid eating corn on the cob as those things can affect the life of the veneer. If you get one you may want to consider having the other tooth done as well so people wont be able to tell you've had anything done. Another option you might want to consider is Lumineer. They dont have to do any drilling or anything real harsh to your teeth. the strongest solution you could do would be to crown the tooth. If the chip isnt too bad you could even just leave it alone. As far as the price I would say anywhere from 500-1500 dollars. It depends on the tooth and the lab as well as the dr. I wont tell you how much the lab usually charges you'd probably never want to go to a dentist again (very high markup at any dentist).

Answer 2

Firstly NHS Veneers would cost only £189, as that is the maximum band cost now.

£340 sounds like a very good price for a nice private veneer, but check with your dentist what quality of veneer you're actually getting, as this depends on the lab work cost to the dentist. You don't want to pay £340 for an NHS veneer :-), as although these will be ok, they won't be as good as private ones.

Venneers are like a false nails for teeth: thin slips of porcelain that fit over your own teeth to make them appear longer/ different shaped/ different coloured. They can be very effective, but there are several drawbacks.

Your veneered teeth may feel thicker than your own, the colour can be difficult to match exactly ( I try and do veneers in pairs if I can as this keeps the teeth symmetrical and look better) they are brittle, so no biting into apples ever. And if you play physical sports like rugby, or have a grinding problem you may want to think very hard, as they are more likely to fail. Also expect to have them redone every 10-15 years.

All that being said, veneers are great in the correct mouth.

Answer 3

My dentists offers two types of veneers, Porcelain and Composite.
The porcelain veneers require you to have dental moulds taken of your upper and lower teeth, these moulds are then sent away to a dental technician who then makes the veneers, you then go back to the surgery about a week or so later and have them fitted.
Composite veneers are made chairside in the surgery, i am not sure if every dentist does it this way but mine does.
To be honest i am sure you can get the porcelian ones cheaper on the nhs but dont quote me on that, as for the composite ones my dentist charges £50 per tooth!
This procedure is very simple, there is no drilling as such involved, all the dentist has to do is use a slow hand piece to roughen the surface of the tooth and apply a layer of composite material,( this is the material used for white fillings) once the composite has been placed onto the tooth suface the dentist shines the curing light on the tooth and this enables the material set.
Both types of veneers are as good as the other, the only advantage i'd say about the composite ones are if you chip a piece off you only have to go back to the surgery and the dentist will simply replace the composite material, if the poreclian one chips the whole hing normally has to be remade from scratch!, apperance? look great, they may feel slightly bulky to begin with but soon settle down and look great.
Life span-depends on if you open beer botles with your teeth!

Answer 4

I was told veneers costed upward of £500 and can run into thousands.

(I have anorexia bulimia and my teeth are on their last legs due to all the acid in my mouth erroding the protective enamel away.) Unfortunatly having an eating disorder doesnt qualify for and veneers but if it did I'd start saving!

I had a mate who chipped her front teeth after falling over a glass bottle on a night out - head, concrete, not good...- she got veneers, you could tell they were veneers by the colour- a little too perfect, but the shape was spot on- she told me they use a mould from what details they already may have of your teeth.

I know they dont last for life- I have looked up the whole veneer thing myself, but they do get some kind of guarentee, I suppose this varies from place to place but I think I remember it being they last decades as oppose to months!

I would base your decision on how valuable it your look to you, how likely is it that the chipped tooth will interfeer with what you normally do -eg does it cut your mouth at all? does it hurt to chew? and lastly but alos importantly, will your bank balance take it?

Answer 5

I have veneers on my front teeth and they look good,i got mine on the nhs so don`t know much about cost,i`ve had mine for 5years or so and do need to get them replaced due to shrinking of my gums caused by gum infections,theres nothing major wrong just that they have slid down a bit as my gums shrunk.

Answer 6

if you are going to go for them it is easier to have 2 made than one, because if in the future and you require another on there will be a slight difference in the colour, it is like buying wall paper and you run out and you go to buy a new one there is a slight difference in colour

Answer 7

this site has info/pics about veneers:
http://www.animated-teeth.com/porcelain_veneers/t1_porcelain_veneers.htm