Veneers
Have questions about veneers and cosmetic dentistry options? Our dentists took some time to share information and answer common patient questions to help educate about veneers including what they are made of, how long they last, use cases, and more. View the table of contents below to learn more or find your question and get an answer from one of our dentists!
The following content was provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers, LVIF Certified General Dentist, and has been medically reviewed for accuracy. Some relevant links have been added to audio transcripts to provide resources for additional information.
Table of Contents:
Click a question below to be taken directly to that answer.
- What are veneers?
- How much do veneers cost?
- Are porcelain veneers covered by insurance?
- Does it hurt to get veneers? Is the process of getting veneers a painful process?
- What are veneers made of?
- How long do veneers last?
- What are press on veneers?
- Can coffee stain porcelain veneers?
- How many veneers should I get?
What are veneers?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
Veneers are kind of a covering that goes over typically your front teeth, It’s a cosmetic covering that’s bonded to your tooth, usually made out of a porcelain-type material. They’re used mostly in cosmetic applications, where it’s that you’re trying to change either the shade or the shape of your teeth, and just kind of for a greater cosmetic result.
How much do veneers cost?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
The cost of veneers really do kind of range. They’re typically comparable to what a crown would cost, a single unit crown for a tooth. How many veneers you need really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Sometimes it’s as few as two. Sometimes there’ll be four or more to kind of achieve the desired cosmetic result. But the cost is really pretty much comparable to what you’d pay a dentist for a crown.
Are porcelain veneers covered by insurance?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
Every insurance company’s different, and the indication for veneers is different. If there’s a mechanical problem, such as a fracture or a bigger filling that you’re using to replace and you’re kind of using the veneer for a functional reason, in addition to cosmetics, there’s a chance that it could be covered. Veneers purely for cosmetic typically are not covered by insurance companies, but most people find if it’s something that you want and it’s kind of holding you back as far as feeling confident or feeling good about your smile, that’s the best money they’ve ever spent to kind of get that done and go forward with it. I’ve never had anybody that regretted doing veneers on their teeth, if that’s what they really wanted.
Does it hurt to get veneers?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
The process is absolutely not painful. You’re numb during the preparation phase, where the doctor will kind of prepare the teeth adequately for the veneer to be bonded in place. When you leave, there’s a provisional veneer that’ll be on there that will look almost just as cosmetic as the real thing. There are some steps to the process. Typically, what I do is I have the lab create in wax the final result on a model of your teeth, so we’ll know exactly where we’re going before we start to prepare anything. We’ll get everything good and numb. That really takes care of any pain that would be associated, so you don’t feel anything at all during the process. Prepare the teeth. Take an impression. Apply the temporary restoration, which is then removed at the second appointment, and the permanent veneers are tried in. As long as they’re cosmetically exactly what we’re looking for, we bond those into place, and that’s it.
What are veneers made of?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
The typical name for the material is lithium disilicate. It’s a porcelain-type material. It looks and feels like porcelain. It’s very durable. It’s very cosmetic. It bonds very nicely to the tooth, so it adheres very tightly to the tooth. It’s made to do that. It really is a perfect recipe for success and longterm success, cosmetically and functionally, because of the materials we have now. They’re constantly improving, made to look even more lifelike and more cosmetic. It’s really just a great time to look at veneers because the materials have never been better.
How long do veneers last?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
The typical recipe for how long a restoration lasts has a lot to do with how you take care of it, like most anything else. The patients that really are terrific with their home care and keep up with that and their regular cleanings, there’s no reason that they can’t last a lifetime. There are things that can cause a veneer to fail. If you were able to get decay around the edge of it, sometimes that will cause it to be replaced. They can fracture, just like a normal tooth can, so if you were to sustain kind of a blow or bite on something super hard by accident, like an olive pit or something like that, they can. I would say as a rule of thumb, certainly no less than 10 years. There’s plenty of patients that we’ve done that have had veneers for 20 years plus, and they still look just as good as the day we put them in.
How Long Do Veneers Last?: Read Article
What are press-on veneers?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
Press on veneers are a very thin veneer. They also call them no prep veneer. The trouble that I have with that restoration is it’s purely a cosmetic restoration, which is fine. The lack of preparation sometimes gives you contours that are not ideal, and the thin kind of nature of the material makes it tough to control shade and also makes it kind of sacrifice some longterm strength. That type of restoration was very popular about 10 years ago or so. It’s kind of fallen out of favor, just because they have not had the longevity that the kind of more conventional, prepared veneers have had, nor the cosmetic result that we’re getting with the new materials.
Can coffee stain porcelain veneers?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
Coffee, and wine, and teas, and things like that really can’t stain the veneer themselves. As long as they’re prepared cosmetically, whereas the margins are hidden and perfectly sealed, you really don’t get staining on those surfaces. They’re very hard surfaces. They’re not porous. So, they typically don’t accept stain. If a veneer is not prepared adequately, so that you can see where the veneer meets the tooth, sometimes from these things you can get staining over the longterm at the margins, at the joint between the veneer and the tooth, but the astute cosmetic dentist will make sure that that junction is hidden and you won’t have that problem with porcelain veneers.
How many veneers should I get?
Answer provided by Dr. Michael DesRosiers. Transcript included below.
Dr. DesRosiers:
A lot of people will want to just get two, or get six, or something like that, and so you really have to look on a case by case basis, depending on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to change the shade of all the teeth, we don’t want to do that with just two or four teeth, because all the rest will still be dark. You’ll see where you started and where you stopped. If you really want to change the shade, it’s usually somewhere between eight to 10, sometimes 12 on the upper, to do that and then the lower as well.
