Dr Aleem discusses the issues about veneers preparation.
Information that is useful for anyone who is considering veneers
Information that is useful for anyone who is considering veneers
‘’ I have been in the dental industry for the last 20 years I have a lot of experience and placed thousands of veneers.
Over the years I have developed my own preparation design and technique based on a lot of training that I have done in California. I have adapted it myself and created my own technique.
Dr Aleem explains why he is the only one to offer non-cutting felspathic porcelain veneers.
Why our veneers are life-like and cause no damage to your natural teeth
Find the answers to the most common questions
What are porcelain veneers?
Porcelain and ceramic veneers are essential the same, often people get confused. There is different types of ceramic, like Emax, Felspathic and Zirconia. Typically most veneers out there are emax which is a block of ceramic, milled or pressed. Felspathic is a material that is not used anymore. 99% of veneers that I do are felspathic.
The advantages are that they look super natural, they are made of powder porcelain and the technician hand-makes them, you have to be very skilled to make them. People are not doing it anymore because it takes a lot of time, energy and skill. People do digital designs as it is easier and it is cost-effective, I guess. Felspathic veneers is what really separates from others.
Why people get porcelain veneers
They are very popular now, along with composite boding. In the USA they have been doing them for many years. Why people get them? Essentially, change of colour and change of shape, people get them veneers to make their teeth look brighter, some people have gaps or crowded teeth.
Do I have to shave down my teeth?
It depends which dentist you go, most will do. Very few don’t prepare veneers. That is something we specialise in. 95%-98% of our cases are non-prep. That means that we don’t cut your teeth at all.
The veneers are very thin, they look great because they are thin, not bulky. But the main thing is they are done by a master ceramist. Non- prep veneers cannot be done by anyone. The only way you can do this is via feldspathic veneers.
Do you need injection?
No injection, because there is no preparation.
Therefore, there is no long-term damage to your tooth structure
What about the 2% of the veneers that are prepared by you?
Very few cases need preparation, just say for instance, a front tooth is mildly twisted and you want create a little bit of space. I do that only on the enamel to the point it is not visible. If I have to give injection I am not going to do it. Aggressive preparation is not me or what my philosophy is. I would use orthodontic appliance such as Invisalign to move the teeth in a good position. Once this is done, then I will do the veneers.
Because the veneers we do are non prep, the process is reversible. What that means is that say over time you decide I don’t want veneers anymore, we can remove them and your tooth underneath is untouched.
How do we remove veneers? We use a laser, the best way to do it. It melts the veneer. We also use the laser to remove existing veneers before replacing them with new veneers and again without any damage.
Each veneer is hand-made by our master ceramist in California. One of the only 37 Master Ceramists accredited by the AACD in the world. A single veneer takes approximately 6 hours to make. A pure craftsmanship.