Porcelain Veneers

Dental Veneers

Many people come to Bondi Dental for cosmetic dentistry services such as dental veneers. Veneers are a common type of cosmetic dentistry treatment that can be used to improve the shape, colour and overall appearance of your teeth.

There are a few different types of dental veneers, and depending on the overall condition of your teeth, our cosmetic dentist, Dr. Andrew Sih at Bondi Dental will help recommend the right solution for your needs.

Why dental veneers?

People come to Bondi Dental for dental veneers for many reasons. Veneers are used to improve the overall appearance of people’s smiles. If you’ve ever felt self-conscious about the appearance of your teeth, want a beautiful smile but have one or several of the following conditions:

Discoloured teeth or stains on your teeth
Your teeth that are worn down, chipped or broken
There are noticeable gaps between your teeth
Your teeth are misaligned or crooked

Then dental veneers may be the answer for you.

Dental veneers are used to:

Restore fractured or discoloured teeth.
Close gaps between teeth
Lengthen worn teeth caused by night grinding
Straighten misaligned or crooked teeth
Correct yellow teeth that are dark and cannot be whitened or bleached
Correct bite which had been damaged or caused by other dental procedures

Bondi Dental offers the two major types of cosmetic dental veneers:

Porcelain veneers
Laminated composite veneers

What are porcelain veneers?

Porcelain veneers are wafer thin shells of porcelain bonded to the front teeth to correct bites or enhance smiles. Porcelain veneers can mask a lot of imperfections on your front teeth, and successfully improve your smiles, making you more confident about yourself and your overall appearance.

What is the procedure for porcelain veneers?

The procedure involves an initial consultation with Dr. Andrew Sih at the Bondi Dental clinic at 136 Curlewis Street in Bondi Beach. Dr. Andrew Sih will first examine the condition of your mouth to make sure that there are no decays or gum problems, which must be fixed before any cosmetic procedures begin.

He will then discuss with you your overall goals for your cosmetic dentistry treatment addressing the following issues:

what do you want to change about your smile
what is your “ideal smile
what are the best shapes and colours of the veneers in relation to your facial features, age and character

He will even do a quick mock-up of the new teeth to give you an idea of how you will look with your new smile.

In the 2^nd visit, Dr. Andrew Sih will prepare your teeth and make a model of your teeth (called an “impression”) in order to fit the veneer properly. This impression will be sent to a dental laboratory for fabrication. A temporary veneer will be placed over the prepared tooth s urface while the porcelain veneers are being processed in the laboratory. This is a highly exacting work and it may take up to a couple of weeks before issuing them.

In the third visit, Dr. Andrew Sih will place the veneers onto your mouth making sure that the fit and appearance are correct. You will have a chance to check the shapes, sizes and colour of the veneers before they are bonded.

The technique and the type of bonding material used are of vital importance to prevent the veneers from falling off in the future. Your teeth will be cleaned, polished and etched to allow for a strong bond with the dental adhesive – veneers are meant to stay on for a long time, so this has to be done properly.

At the end of this session you will leave Dr. Andrew Sih’s surgery with a bright new happy Smile.

Thereafter be a follow-up visit will be required after a few weeks for Dr. Andrew Sih to ensure that the fit is still correct and that your gums are adjusting to the presence of the new veneers.

What are the advantages of porcelain veneers:

Porcelain veneers are durable and less likely to stain
The colour of porcelain veneers are more stable and uniform
Porcelain veneers can be brushed, flossed and treated just like natural teeth

What are the disadvantages of porcelain veneers?

Timing: the process, which requires preparing and sometimes cutting the teeth, and fabrication by the laboratory, will take a couple of weeks to complete.
Cost: the cost of porcelain veneers is double the cost of composite veneers.
Durability: porcelain veneers may have to be replaced due to cracking, leaking, chipping, and if not prepared correctly, the tooth/teeth under the veneer may decay, and gum line may shrink.
They may also be damaged due to teeth grinding
If the veneers are not properly bonded, they may come off, and at the most inconvenient time.

Another option to dental porcelain veneers is “laminated composite veneers” which are layers of tooth coloured materials applied to your teeth by our skilled and experience cosmetic dentist Dr. Andrew Sih. Laminated composite veneers do not come off because they are permanently bonded to your teeth, any future chips or breakage can be easily repaired by reapplying the same material onto the veneer.

For more information on porcelain veneers, or to schedule an appointment, please contact Bondi Dental in Sydney, or call 1300 988 010.