Convenient & Affordable Care

Porcelain Veneers

What is a Porcelain Veneer?

You can think of a porcelain veneer a lot like a contact lens, but for your teeth! Porcelain veneers are extremely thin (0.3mm, about the thickness of a business card) sheets of porcelain that are bonded to the front of your tooth. Porcelain is the material of choice because it most naturally replicates human enamel. They are used to change the shape, color, size, and symmetry of the teeth and smile.

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Advanced Technology

The porcelain systems we have today are technologically much different than they were in the past. You may have seen veneers that remind you of Chiclets. That look is indicative of old-school dentistry, where very opaque and monochromatic porcelain was used, OR it was a porcelain crown fused to metal. The advanced technology we have today produces veneers that are:

  • Stronger
  • More translucent, like your natural teeth
  • Super thin
  • The best option for creating a beautiful, natural smile!

Porcelain Veneer Process

Marbella Dentistry has transformed thousands of smiles and placed tens of thousands of veneers. We use science, experience, skill, and art to make sure every case is a perfect 10! Our doctors have over 65 years experience combined and they’ve created systematic methods so every case runs smoothly – every time. We begin with the end in mind – a gorgeous smile!

Check out our step-by-step process below.

  • Step 1: The Interview & Consultation: The first step in the porcelain veneer process is for you to come in for a consultation and discuss your options. We’ll take digital images of your teeth and smile, and we’ll talk about your objectives. We’ll show you pictures of amazing smiles to see what appeals to you and we’ll offer guidance for which smile might best match the shape and contours of your face. You’ll see hundreds of examples of our own cosmetic dentistry work.

    Our entire team is dedicated to understanding what you are looking for. We offer custom treatment plans for treatment of all scope, whether it’s only two porcelain veneers, or a full-mouth restoration of 28 teeth. You’ll receive a personalized treatment plan for best achieving your goals and we’ll walk you through the details. By the time this appointment is finished our doctors will have created the formula that will give you EXACTLY the smile you want, and more than you might have thought possible!
  • Step 2: Your Blueprint: Once we’ve established the cosmetic plan for your smile we make impressions (models) of your mouth and teeth. These are sent with detailed instructions to a Master Ceramist. We choose the best ceramists in the country, based on your specific plan. We communicate with them every step of the way to give you the results you want.

    The ceramist will mount your models on a chewing simulator machine and place wax on the teeth to mimic what your veneers will look like. This “wax-up” blueprint ensures the restorations will function properly in your mouth. Marbella Dentistry is concerned not only about your smile looking fabulous, but we also want the results to be functionally long-lasting!
  • Step 3: The Preparation Appointment & Your Temporaries: Following the wax-up, we’re ready to proceed with the actual dental procedure. We’ll do any necessary contouring of the tooth, ensuring that we’re being as conservative as possible. We’ll numb and prepare your teeth to make models on which the actual veneers are made. The contouring will vary based on our wax-up blueprint.

    This test drive gives us the opportunity to make modifications, whether functional or cosmetic. We can make adjustments if they’re too long, too short, too round, etc. You’ll get to identify those changes as we move toward fabricating your permanent veneers with our master ceramist. You’ll wear the temporaries for about three weeks, giving you ample time for alterations.
  • Step 4: The “Seat” Appointment: The final step is the bonding and placement of your beautiful porcelain veneers. Congratulations, this is the big day! You will have been wearing your temporaries for a few weeks, test driving everything about them. At this seat appointment we remove the temporaries, try in the finished porcelain to make sure it is perfect and to make sure you LOVE the results.

    We then permanently bond in the porcelain restorations. We’ll equilibrate your bite, meaning we align all forces so you have perfectly natural movement. If needed, we’ll make impressions for a protective guard for night time wear. The process is now complete!

Frequently Asked Questions

With proper home care and a bite guard, veneers should last anywhere from 15 to 20 years. Like most things we have in life, the better we take care of them, the longer they will last. This doesn’t mean that you’re limited in the foods you eat, like corn on the cob or biting into an apple. Veneers should be an enhancement to your day-to-day, not a limitation.

Porcelain veneers should look and feel as natural as your teeth. This means you can brush, floss, and eat all of the foods you love. Atlanta Dental Spa veneers will not stain nearly as quickly as your natural teeth would, and we have specialized polishing agents that your experienced Dental Hygienist will use when you have your teeth cleaned. This will ensure that your porcelain veneers remain as shiny and new as they were on the day you got them.

The answer is no, yes, and maybe. It seems like a convoluted answer, but the amount of pain varies considerably, based on the amount of reduction to the tooth. Old-school dentists who cause a lot of destruction in the veneer process will cause quite a bit of pain.

At Atlanta Dental Spa, we pride ourselves on being as conservative as possible, most of the time not reducing your original tooth further than within your enamel. That outer surface of your tooth doesn’t have any triggers of sensitivity so our patients don’t complaint about sensitivity with their veneers. Being conservative with our dentistry means your teeth don’t become sensitive, and you’re preserving all your natural enamel.

One of the best benefits of porcelain veneers is they provide a beautiful, white smile. Porcelain is a lot like fine china, in that it will not fade or wear over time.

Veneers can be polished, but not whitened. If it looks like your veneers have discolored over time, chances are the tooth behind the veneer has changed, or you’re seeing discoloration that has occurred between the veneer and the tooth. If you have concerns about your smile losing whiteness please contact us and we’ll work through the various treatment options with you.

We understand cost is a big concern when it comes to veneers. Typically, veneers are not covered by insurance. Unfortunately, insurance will usually only cover procedures that address things that are broken or damaged. In many cases, since veneers are cosmetic they aren’t covered. There are exceptions when insurance will cover veneers when the tooth (or teeth) previously had a crown or large filling that is now faulty. We can replace that faulty dentistry with the modern advantages of porcelain veneers as a component of redoing your whole smile.

The cost of a high-quality veneer at Marbella Dentistry is approximately $1500 -2000 per tooth. The cost depends on a number of factors like materials used, complexity of case, and your comprehensive treatment plan. Sometimes this causes sticker shock, but you have to weigh the inherent costs and benefits with choosing a provider who is dedicated to healthy, safe, beneficial, and cosmetically beautiful procedures.

With cosmetic dentistry you absolutely get what you pay for. It’s not unheard of to see people hocking $800 veneers, and it’s unfortunate how many times we’ve had to remove those cheap veneers because they’re uncomfortable, not cosmetically pleasing, or just downright unhealthy. Additionally, a lot of the preparations for those cheap veneers have removed way too much tooth structure because of the skill level and education of that dentist. The old adage is true – you get what you pay for.