Steps for Dental Veneers

What is the process for dental veneers if I wish to proceed?

• A traditional dental examination This is where everything begins, the foundation.
• Diagnostic Radiographs-.This allows us to evaluate the health of your teeth and gums to see if you are eligible to have dental veneers placed.
  Extra-oral Digital Photographs. These photographs of your teeth and smile evaluation gives us very important information. It shows the following information:

1. How much tooth exposure you show at rest (repose).
2. Your smile line and how much gum do you show.
3. The shape of your existing teeth… straight… oval… rounded.
4. The width to length ratio. Do your teeth look too long and narrow or short and squatty? This has a number of descriptions… the “Golden Proportions”… the “Platinum Proportions” many names that look at the height and width and its relationship to nature and beauty.\
5. Spacing and/or rotations between your teeth.
6. Color differences between you teeth. Is one darker than the others… are they splotchy with many colors… are they translucent…etc
7. Intra-oral Photographs. Close-up views of the above information.
8. Impressions to make a model of your teeth. We want to be able to evaluate your current shape of yourteeth, spacing, and just about everything mentioned above and more. It gives us a better way to determine “if” we can meet your goals.
9. Determine what “style” of teeth you would like- Teeth have different shapes and edges that give very distinctly different appearances. Some styles are flat… others slightly rounded... and others oval. There are many to choose from. We make a “style” selection (e.g. “youthful” ”mature”… “Hollywood”) and the dental laboratory will wax your style over your existing teeth to see if this is the change you desire. It gives us a preview or what is and what is not possible.
10. Fabricate a diagnostic wax-up from your model for your review and approval. Using the style you have chosen the dental laboratory fabricates the shape and style of your new veneers. You and the doctors can review the changes and determine if you want to proceed with treatment. If you decide to proceed, we use this wax- up to fabricate your temporaries that you wear while the dental veneers are being fabricated. In a sense you get to have a trial run on the veneers! After you have worn the temporaries for a week or so and have approved the style… your veneers are finished to this form so there are no major surprises.