Hi all… this is my first post in the newly re-vamped Underwood Dental Care website. Keep checking back as I will be making regular posts on dental topics from things I see, to things I hear patients want explained. Or better still… post your questions to [email protected] and I will be sure to blog about it!
My first post will be on my lovely mother-in-law. I will be getting married in October and like all mother of the brides, they want to look their best. I will use her as a discussion case for those who have always been curious about veneers… made “famous” and “publicly aware” on “Extreme Makeover”
Before:
As you can see there is slight crowding in the upper front teeth. She was mainly concerned about her right lateral incisor which she complained to buckle out when she smiled.
Veneers are thin, tooth coloured porcelain shells that are custom made to bond to and cover the front of teeth to hide any blemishes, misalignments etc…
They are more conservative than preparing for a crown and can often be used if the underlying tooth is strong and healthy (like in this case!)
Appointment 1:
For my mother in law, the first appointment involved a brief discussion about what she expected, what she was happy with, what she was unhappy with. Moulds of her teeth were taken to form study models. On these models, we were able to do a “mock” set up of her veneers in wax. This gave her an idea of what the finished product would look like. Once she was happy to go ahead, we jumped to appointment number 2, the next day!
Appointment 2:
This appointment took about 2 hours. The teeth were trimmed approximately 0.3mm to make room for the porcelain to bond over the top. If no space was created, the porcelain would bond over the teeth too prominently and would give her teeth “horse teeth”.
Once the teeth were trimmed to the appropriate depth, an impression was taken to be sent off to the dental lab to have the veneers made up.
My mother in law walked away with a temporary set of veneers… which she was very happy with. (You can see it in her smile on the photo below!)
Appointment 3:
A week later… the veneers were ready to insert…
stay posted for my next post… photos attached!