da Vinci veneers are made of a variety of porcelains. da Vinci Studios is a dental laboratory in southern California. They have some terrific laboratory technicians, and I have used their services with excellent results. But, the results they gave me were not consistent. There was a time when they had assigned me to a technician I felt was very mediocre, so I switched.
Their founder is Daniel Materdomini, who is a true master ceramist who does world class work and makes beautiful porcelain veneers. But, of course, all of their technicians don’t have that same level of expertise.
On the right is a sample of beautiful da Vinci veneers work for one of our recommended cosmetic dentists.
However, I strongly recommend picking the cosmetic dentist, not the laboratory. (Read our related page about MAC Veneers for an explanation.) The laboratory works for the dentist and creates porcelain veneers based on the artistic instructions given by the dentist. A great laboratory cannot make up for the failings of a poor dentist. And it’s the dentist’s responsibility to approve the final product or send it back for more work.
And then when you have a great cosmetic dentist that has a well-known reputation, you will get da Vinci’s best technicians. Dr. John Doe down the street, when he sends a case to da Vinci, may only get a mediocre technician, or at least that’s what I heard rumors of happening back maybe ten years ago with da Vinci.
And it’s the dentist who directs the laboratory. A great laboratory technician, if the instructions aren’t correct or the tooth preparation is inadequate, can’t produce a great result.
Here is another case done by da Vinci showing the before and after views. This again is beautiful, natural-looking work by a master ceramist teamed with a highly skilled and artistic cosmetic dentist:
Before
After
In September 2009, I had an interesting exchange with da Vinci by mail. They didn’t like my saying that some of their technicians may be mediocre, as they try hard to only have the best possible ceramists. Chester Garcia, their CEO, said, “Da Vinci takes great pride in its work and only hires the best technicians available. We also have an extrensive training program, quality control procedure, and production methodology that were designed and implemented by Daniel Materdomini. This is all to ensure that our clients receive the best aesthetic restorations possible regardless of an individual dentist’s reputation and prior relationship with da Vinci.”
I do know that in the late 90s and early 2000s they struggled with some quality control issues. I believe they may have put all those behind them.
However, Chester Garcia pointed out in his letter that their work is at the dentist’s direction and they create porcelain veneers to meet the esthetics that the dentist envisions. Which makes my point. Don’t expect them to make up for the deficiencies of a dentist who has no artistic ability. See my da Vinci veneers blog entry for more about this exchange.
Related Information:
- Also read about Lumineers.
- Read about JK Veneers.
- Some dentists are suggesting placing Lumineers over crowns. Dr. Hall explains why they are suggesting this and why this is a bad idea.
- Dr. Hall has some comments about GlamSmile that you really need to read before you have this technique used on you.
Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question.
This content was written by Dr. David Hall.