Porcelain Veneers at Mint Hill Smiles

Porcelain Veneers · Mint Hill, NC

Most people who ask us about veneers are not actually asking about veneers

They’re asking about one tooth that has always bothered them. Or a photo they saw of themselves and did not recognize. Or an edge that chipped years ago and got worse.

Veneers come up because veneers are the thing people have heard of. That’s usually where the conversation starts, and it is almost never where it ends.

So before anything else, here is how we think about this. Veneers are a good answer to a specific set of problems. They are the wrong answer to several others, and they are permanent in a way that most people don’t fully appreciate until we explain it. Our job at the consultation is to work out which situation you’re in, and to tell you honestly if something smaller would get you the same result.

The Basics

What veneers are

A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain bonded to the front of a tooth. It changes the shape, the size, the color and the position of that tooth’s visible surface without touching the back of it.

They work as a set rather than one at a time. Light passes through porcelain differently than it passes through natural enamel, so a single veneer next to natural teeth has to be made carefully to disappear. That is part of why we spend time on shade matching before anything is made.

Where They Work

What veneers fix well

Veneers are the right tool when the problem is the surface of the tooth.

Discoloration that doesn’t respond to whitening. Some staining is in the deeper structure of the tooth rather than the enamel, and no amount of bleaching gel will shift it. Tetracycline staining is the classic example. Whitening makes the rest of your teeth brighter and leaves the stained one looking worse by comparison.

Chips and worn edges. Front teeth wear down unevenly, and an edge that has chipped and been smoothed over the years ends up shorter than the tooth beside it.

Small gaps. A gap between the two front teeth can be closed by widening both teeth slightly, which a veneer does without moving anything.

Teeth that are the wrong shape. Narrow lateral incisors, sometimes called peg laterals, are common and are one of the situations where veneers make a dramatic difference.

Teeth that are slightly out of line. Emphasis on slightly. A tooth that sits a little forward or a little back can be masked. A tooth that is genuinely crooked cannot, and we’ll say so.

Honest Limits

What veneers do not fix

This is the part most veneer pages leave out, and it’s the part that matters.

Veneers don’t fix crowding. If your teeth are overlapping, a veneer sits on top of the problem rather than correcting it, and we would be removing enamel from healthy teeth to hide something that clear aligners could actually move. In most of those cases we would rather straighten first and then look at whether you still want veneers. Often you don’t.

Veneers don’t fix a bite problem. If your teeth are meeting in a way that is wearing them down, porcelain on the front of them will wear down or chip too, just more expensively. The bite has to be dealt with first.

Veneers don’t fix gum disease, and they can’t be placed on teeth with active decay underneath. We’ve said this on our cosmetic dentistry page and we’ll say it again here, because it’s the single most important thing about cosmetic work: a beautiful smile built on an unhealthy foundation does not stay beautiful. If something needs treating first, we map out the sequence so you can see the whole picture before you commit to any of it.

And veneers are not reversible. Preparing a tooth for a veneer means removing a small amount of enamel, and enamel does not grow back. That tooth will need to be covered for the rest of your life. Not a reason to avoid veneers. A reason to be sure.

Veneers or bonding

We offer both, and will tell you honestly what would be a better solution for your specific situation.

Composite bonding uses the same tooth colored resin as a filling, shaped directly onto the tooth in one appointment. In most cases no enamel is removed at all, which means the tooth underneath is untouched and the work can be redone or removed later.

Where bonding wins: one or two teeth, a small chip, a minor reshape, a patient who wants to see what a change looks like before committing to something permanent, and anyone who wants the lower cost.

Where porcelain wins: a full set of front teeth, deep staining that bonding would show through, someone who drinks a lot of coffee or red wine and doesn’t want to think about staining, and anyone who wants the result to hold its color for years rather than being refreshed.

The trade is durability and stain resistance against reversibility and cost.

The Process

What happens at your consultation

You come in and tell us what you see when you look in the mirror. That sounds obvious, but it’s the part that shapes everything, because what bothers you about your smile is often not what a dentist would notice first.

We photograph your teeth and your smile at rest and talking, not just a posed grin. We look at your gum line, how much tooth shows when you speak, and how your teeth meet. We check that the foundation is healthy, because that decides whether veneers are on the table at all.

Then we talk about how many teeth. Veneers on two teeth in a smile that shows eight is a common way to get a result that looks slightly off, and we’d rather explain that at the start than after.

You’ll leave the first appointment knowing whether you’re a good candidate, roughly what it would involve, and what it would cost. No commitment attached to any of that.

How veneers get made and fitted

Most cases take two to four appointments over two to four weeks, from preparing the teeth to the final fit.

In broad terms: we prepare the teeth, take a digital scan with our intraoral scanner rather than an impression tray, and fit temporary veneers while the porcelain ones are made. You wear the temporaries and live with them for a little while, which is useful, because it’s the first chance to say the shape isn’t quite right while it’s still easy to change.

When the porcelain comes back we try them in before anything is permanently bonded. You see them in your own mouth, in a mirror, in daylight. If the color isn’t right, they go back. Nothing gets bonded because it’s nearly right.

If you’d like to see the new shape before committing to anything, our lab can make a wax-up, a model of your teeth with the proposed veneers built onto it, ahead of treatment. There’s an additional cost for it, and for anyone weighing up a bigger change it’s money well spent.

Aftercare

Living with veneers

Porcelain doesn’t stain the way natural enamel does, which surprises people who expected to give up coffee. What can stain is the margin where the veneer meets the tooth, and the natural teeth around it, so the rest of your mouth needs the same care it always did.

Floss normally. Brush normally. Come in for your cleanings, and tell your hygienist you have veneers so they use the right polishing paste.

If you grind or clench, you’ll need a night guard. This is not optional. Grinding is the most common reason a veneer chips, and a guard is far cheaper than a replacement.

Expect ten to fifteen years from a well made veneer that is looked after, and longer is common. What usually fails first is not the porcelain, it’s the tooth or the gum around it, which is why the cleanings matter more than anything you do at home.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do veneers damage the teeth underneath?

Preparing a tooth removes a small amount of enamel, which is permanent, and that’s the honest answer. It does not damage the tooth in the sense of harming it, and a well fitted veneer protects the surface underneath. But the tooth will always need to be covered from that point on. This is the main reason we push people toward bonding when bonding would do the job.

How long do veneers last?

Ten to fifteen years is a reasonable expectation with good care, and plenty last longer. Grinding, a heavy bite and skipped cleanings are what shorten that.

What do veneers cost?

Cost depends on how many teeth are being treated and what condition they’re in to start with, and we’ve set out our veneer pricing on its own page. We give you a written figure at the consultation before you commit to anything, and if any part of the treatment has a functional component we check whether your insurance covers that portion. Cosmetic work is generally classed as elective and not covered. Patients who have Brush365 also get 15% off veneers.

Can I whiten my veneers?

No. Whitening gel works on natural enamel and has no effect on porcelain. That’s why we whiten first, let the shade settle, and then match the veneers to the teeth you’ve decided to keep. Doing it the other way round leaves you with veneers that no longer match.

What if one chips?

Small chips can sometimes be polished or repaired in place. A significant chip means replacing that veneer, which is a remake of one tooth rather than the whole set. Call us and we’ll look at it.

Are veneers reversible?

No. Once enamel is removed the tooth needs to stay covered. Bonding is the reversible option.

Will people know?

Not if they’re made well. The give-away with veneers is uniformity: teeth that are all exactly the same length, exactly the same shade, and brighter than anything that occurs naturally. Real teeth have variation in them, and good veneers keep some of it.

Book a veneers consultation

A consultation is a conversation. Come in, tell us what you’d change, and we’ll tell you what’s realistic, what it would involve and what it would cost.

Call (704) 323-7577 or book online. We’re at 11300 Cresthill Drive, Suite 105, Mint Hill, NC 28227, and we see patients from Mint Hill, Matthews, Indian Trail, Stallings, Weddington, Midland, Albemarle and southeast Charlotte.