Fast Porcelain Veneers
How would you like to get a crown for your front tooth in only one fast appointment? How about getting a complete set of porcelain veneers in only four hours? It can be done this fast with CEREC porcelain veneer technology.
The difference between these and conventional porcelain veneers is that they are made in a CEREC machine in the dentist’s office. Your teeth are prepared, an optical scan is taken of the prepared teeth, and then a computerized milling machine makes the veneers in the dentist’s office, precisely milled to fit your teeth exactly. Conventional veneers are made using an impression of your teeth that is sent to a dental laboratory. It can take from one to three weeks for the finished case to get back to the dental office.
CEREC technology has a couple of distinct advantages. Using a CEREC porcelain milling computer, a dentist can create a porcelain crown or a porcelain veneer quickly—on the spot. This eliminates the requirement for a second appointment for the patient to come back and get the crown or veneer placed. This not only saves the time of the second appointment, but saves discomfort from having to wear a temporary crown or veneer that will later have to be removed. In some cases CEREC technology may be able to trim the cost because, with a CEREC machine, there is no laboratory fee for the dentist, though the machines are rather costly.
However, we caution patients that, if this is a crown for a front tooth or a porcelain veneer, you need to be very sure that your dentist is a true artist and has the skills to make the crowns or veneers look beautiful, because there are very few dentists who know how to do this well. Color manipulation with CEREC technology is especially challenging. And, since the dentist is doing it all himself or herself, he or she has to be an artist.
One of the expert cosmetic dentists in our mynewsmile.com referral network was Dr. George Mantell of Tucson, Arizona, who has now retired. He perfected the CEREC veneer technique to where he could make a beautiful set of porcelain veneers in his office and place them on the patient immediately. This quick procedure requires considerable artistic skill in color manipulation, polishing, smile design, and mastery of the CEREC technology. But here is one typical example of his work:
Before
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This patient has dark, broken down front teeth. Here is the photograph of his teeth as he begins his appointment.
After
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Here are this patient’s teeth the way they looked four hours later. Four hours is enough time to prepare the teeth, optically scan the preparations, mill the CEREC porcelain veneers, stain and glaze them, and bond them to the teeth.
Dr. Mantell has had patients who fly to him from the far corners of the country and even from South America and Europe. They would arrive at the Tucson airport, have a four-hour dental appointment, maybe visit the beautiful mountains around Tucson or play golf at one of the magnificent courses in the Tucson area, and then fly home with a set of CEREC porcelain veneers and a beautiful new smile.
Here’s another CEREC porcelain veneer case Dr. Mantell did.
Before
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This woman had yellow and worn teeth.
After
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Here is a picture of her beautiful teeth with CEREC porcelain veneers four hours later.
Another advantage of CEREC porcelain veneers is that the fee is very reasonable. Because they can be placed in only one appointment and not two, because they require no temporary, and because there is no fee for a laboratory technician, the costs for the dentist are lower. The cost savings for CEREC porcelain veneers can be more than enough to pay for the air fare to Tucson for many people.
Click here for information about CEREC crowns.
Related information:
- Should I get porcelain veneers, or should I just have my teeth whitened?
- Read about how to take care of porcelain veneers after they are bonded on.
- I made the costly investment to have a new smile, and when I had the try-in, the Lumineers looked awful. The dentist thinks they’re fine, but they’re so big and bulbous, I went out of the office in tears. What can I do now?
- I have a discolored tooth from a root canal that was done 15 years ago. What can be done?
- What can you tell me about tooth whitening relapse? Are whitening treatments permanent?
—Dr. David Hall.
Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question.