The Three Veneer Visits

First, Is Porcelain Right for You?

The first conversation isn't really about porcelain. Your dentist will ask what you dislike when you see your teeth in the mirror, because your answer shapes the treatment. Teeth that are simply yellow or dull may need home whitening and nothing else. A small gap or a chipped corner is usually better handled with composite bonding, which is faster, costs less and leaves more of the tooth alone.

Crooked teeth change things most. Lining them up with veneers alone means shaping them more deeply, so straightening with Invisalign normally comes first, and only then do you decide whether you still want veneers. Many people find they don't.

Decay, leaking fillings and inflamed gums are put right before any cosmetic work, since porcelain bonded to an unhealthy tooth won't last. Your consultation is free: a £20 deposit secures it and is refunded within seven days of you attending. You leave with a written plan setting out each tooth, its fee and the sequence of treatment, and nobody expects a decision that day.

Appointment One: Designing the Smile

Set aside about ninety minutes, as this is the longest visit. We take still photographs and a short clip of you talking and smiling, then scan your teeth with our iTero scanner in place of putty trays. Your new smile is designed on screen against your own face, so each tooth's length and width follow your lip line, your facial midline and the way you smile rather than a stock template.

That design then becomes a temporary mock-up placed over your existing teeth, with no cutting and no glue. You can study it in the mirror, talk with it in, snap photos on your phone and tell us your thoughts. Longer, shorter, softer, more even: changes are made now, and they cost you nothing. Our trial smile guide goes into more detail.

Choosing the Number and the Shade

Smile broadly and count the upper teeth you can see. For most people that comes to six to ten, which is normally how many veneers a full change needs. One veneer on its own is possible, usually to hide a single dark or misshapen front tooth, but blending one tooth with the natural teeth beside it is among the most demanding jobs in cosmetic dentistry and takes painstaking shade work.

You choose the shade together by daylight, judging it against your complexion and the whites of your eyes. Bright white suits some faces and looks artificial on others, so we try options on your own photographs. If you want the natural teeth around the veneers lighter, whiten them beforehand. Whitening gel has no effect on porcelain, so the veneers are matched once your new colour has settled.

Appointment Two: Shaping and Temporaries

The teeth are numbed with local anaesthetic before anything starts; what you notice is a buzzing pressure, not pain. A thin layer of enamel, often about half a millimetre, is removed from the front of each tooth so the porcelain has room to sit. Skip that step and the veneers would stand out and look bulky. Your approved design marks out which surfaces need trimming and which can be left, so the reduction stays as small as your case allows.

Be sure of one thing before this appointment: enamel doesn't grow back, so those teeth will need a covering for life. That is exactly why the trial smile comes first. Once shaping is finished, the teeth are scanned again and the file is sent to the dental laboratory, while temporaries are made in the chair so you go home with a full smile.

Getting by in Temporaries

Temporary veneers are made from a softer material and fixed only lightly, so they lift off cleanly at the fitting. Expect them to look decent rather than perfect; that's how they're meant to be. These habits help them survive until the porcelain is ready:

• Cut food small and chew with your back teeth
• Give toffee, hard sweets and crusty bread a miss, along with anything you'd usually tear at with your front teeth
• Brush gently, and slide floss out to the side instead of pulling it back up between the teeth
• A little sensitivity to cold is common for a few days and usually settles
• If a temporary cracks or loosens, give us a call; it's usually quick to sort

Appointment Three: Bonding the Porcelain

With the temporaries off, each veneer is tried in first with a water-soluble paste, so you and your dentist can check the fit, shape and colour while nothing is fixed. A veneer that isn't right goes back to the laboratory; we'd sooner book another visit than bond something you have doubts about.

When you're both happy, each tooth is cleaned and prepared, the veneers are bonded one by one and set with a curing light, and excess resin is cleared away. We then test your bite from every angle, including side-to-side grinding movements, and adjusted where necessary. A review a couple of weeks later confirms that your gums have settled and your bite still feels natural.

The Timetable

Without whitening or straightening, the process usually runs three to four weeks from start to finish. Straightening first stretches that out, but it allows thinner veneers and less enamel removal. Your written plan sets out your own timetable from day one, so if you're hoping to have the veneers in place for Lanimer Day in June, mention it and the plan can work back from the date.

The Cost of Porcelain Veneers

A porcelain veneer starts at £695 a tooth. ¹ That fee already includes the design, trial smile, temporaries and review rather than adding them on. A tooth that needs extra work beforehand, such as an old filling replaced, may cost more, and you'll see that in your plan before anything begins. Composite veneers, by comparison, are £395 a tooth. The dental plan discount doesn't apply to veneers.

Once you've agreed your plan, the fee is fixed, and payment is due as treatment progresses. Our guide to veneer costs in Lanark sets out totals for different numbers of teeth.

Keeping Porcelain Looking Good

Looked after sensibly, porcelain commonly lasts 10 to 15 years and often longer. When veneers do fail, it's usually down to grinding, biting on something hard, or gums shrinking back until a veneer's edge shows.

• Brush twice a day and clean between your teeth every day
• Keep up hygiene appointments so the edges are kept clean and looked at
• If you clench or grind, wear a custom-made night guard (£210)
• Open packets with scissors rather than teeth, and don't chew pen lids or ice
• Tea, coffee, red wine and smoking won't stain porcelain, though they can mark the edges

When a veneer eventually needs replacing, a new one is made from a fresh scan, which is a good chance to match it to any whitening you've had since.

Questions

This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.