Will My Veneers Last Forever?

You may be surprised to learn that a porcelain veneer is not a permanent solution to improving your smile.  In fact, it is common for a set of veneers to need replacement at some point between 5-10 years after bonding them to your teeth due to normal wear and tear.  

Here is a perfect example of what to watch for:  At McAdams Dental, we recently encountered a situation where a set of porcelain veneers had outlived their useful life.  The patient enjoyed 13 years of showing off her beautiful porcelain smile, but you might notice that over time a few problems have developed.  Notice the spacing between the front teeth, fading color, dark stained pitting, and yellowing/darkening along the gums at the edges of the veneers shown in the photo below:

Our patient was ready for an update to her smile and as a birthday gift to herself, we worked together to provide her a set of veneers that she was happy to show off, in fact….she couldn't stop smiling!  After carefully assessing the patients concerns, we were careful to place the edges of the veneers in a more healthy and beautiful location, all spaces between the teeth were closed, and a more natural transition of color from a translucent tip to the natural shade near the gums was used to improve upon her flat, all white smile.  

In the end, we achieved successful improvement by placing 8 porcelain veneers on her upper front teeth, compare before and after in the photo below:

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTO:  SMILE UPDATING WITH VENEER REPLACEMENT

The patient was quite happy with her more natural looking smile, and the improved health of her gums, Dr. McAdams felt that a more natural shade than flat white would complement the patients skin tone and facial features.  See for yourself in the smile photos below.

AFTER PHOTOS:  LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE SMILE PHOTOS