We can use veneers to help someone with their smile in several ways, whether it be their teeth are crowded, maybe a little discolored, whether they have space, whether they just don’t like the length of their teeth, and they have a lot of wear on their teeth. A lot of times individuals that we treat for veneers, although we can treat from 20 to 85 and beyond, a lot of them are individuals that have a little bit of wear and tear. We all have it as life goes on, and some veneering can really improve our smile, brighten it, just make everything a little nicer. It can also be protective of the teeth, which is a really important aspect. If we have some chipping already, then things need to be protected, and that can be one benefit that … and like I said, also just brighter smile, which everyone would like.
So one of the options that we have for veneers are what are called Lumineers, which most of us have heard of, which is a noninvasive type of veneer that typically doesn’t require preparation, meaning any reduction of the tooth. There’s three ways to do it, but one of them is no prep, no-prep veneer, where we take impressions of the teeth, and a couple of weeks later we get the veneers and place them on the teeth. The patient still retains their natural teeth. There are also other aspects where we can utilize Lumineers, where we reduce little bits of the teeth so we can effectively straighten the teeth, for example. But still, very noninvasive, very minimal preparation.
So Lumineers are a very nice option to have, to give to patients. We still do the standard veneers of all types, but that’s one aspect and one thing that we can offer to patients, again, the minimal- or no-prep veneer.
