E-max Veneers

A laminate veneer is a sheet of porcelain roughly half a millimetre thick, bonded to the front surface of the tooth only. In Turkish both this and a crown are commonly called "kaplama", which is why they are so often confused — they are not the same thing.

A crown encircles the tooth, and that requires one to two millimetres to be removed from every surface, passing through the enamel into the dentine. A veneer covers only the front and usually needs 0.3 to 0.5 millimetres. The difference is not material quality but how much tooth is removed — and that difference cannot be undone.

E-max is the trade name for lithium disilicate glass ceramic. Because it transmits light much as natural enamel does, it is among the materials that give the most natural result at the front. Feldspathic porcelain is an alternative that can be made thinner still in suitable cases.

Bonding creates a chemical union, and that adhesive bond is what gives the veneer its strength on the tooth. It is why a veneer behaves far more robustly than its thickness suggests — though that does not mean it is unbreakable.

What a veneer solves is a defined list, and knowing the boundary is useful. Pushed beyond it, the result is usually short-lived.

• It solves: discolouration that does not respond to bleaching, mild crowding, small gaps between teeth, chipped or worn incisal edges, teeth that look out of proportion, old and discoloured front fillings.
• It does not solve: substantial loss of tooth structure, root-treated and weakened teeth, significant malocclusion, severe crowding, untreated gum disease and active decay.

For that second group the right answer is different: where structure is missing, a zirconia crown; where crowding is significant, orthodontics; where the gums are involved, gum treatment first.

A situation we meet often: a patient with visibly crowded teeth who would rather have veneers than orthodontics. It is technically possible, but the price is high — aligning teeth with ceramic means removing more structure, and sometimes devitalising a healthy tooth. At the mock-up stage that limit becomes visible, and the decision is made together.

Where colour is the only complaint, a veneer is not needed. Placing porcelain on eight teeth for something whitening would have solved applies an irreversible procedure without cause.

An honest answer here matters, because two opposite claims circulate: "nothing is removed" and "it is the same as a crown". Neither is true.

For a standard laminate veneer, 0.3 to 0.5 millimetres is removed from the front surface. That stays within the enamel and the tooth's own structure is largely preserved. For comparison, a crown removes one to two millimetres from every surface and passes through enamel into dentine.

In some cases none is removed at all. That is the no-prep approach, and it depends on the tooth's current position: where a tooth sits back or is undersized, adding a thin layer of porcelain brings it into line. Where the tooth already sits forward, a no-prep veneer pushes it further out and makes it look bulky.

What determines the amount removed is the aesthetic goal, not the brand of the material. The larger the change — how many shades lighter, how far forward the tooth must come — the more thickness is needed. That calculation is made at the mock-up stage and you see its consequence in your own mouth.

The reduction cannot be undone. That is why the decision should be made after seeing the result, and why the mock-up is a mandatory step here.

The most consequential step in veneer treatment is the mock-up. The digitally designed smile is applied in your mouth in a temporary material without any tooth being touched.

You wear it, talk with it, smile and photograph it. A design that looks good on screen can feel different when you speak: the teeth may feel long, the lip may catch, or an "s" may whistle. All of that is corrected on the mock-up, and correcting it costs nothing.

The mock-up has a second function: it shows how much reduction is actually needed. The approved mock-up is used as a guide during preparation, so the tooth is reduced by what the result requires and no more. Without one, that amount is estimated — and estimates always err on the side of removing more.

If you are travelling, we begin the design stage before you leave; a first design is produced from the photographs you send and your first day is spent on the mock-up. Our smile design page sets out the whole process.

The mock-up is revised until you are happy, and preparation begins only after you approve it. A clinic that starts preparing teeth on the morning you arrive has taken away your last chance to say no, for scheduling reasons.

1. Examination and records. Radiographs, an intraoral scan, photographs and video. Decay or gum disease is treated first.
2. Digital design and mock-up. The design is reviewed on screen, then applied in the mouth and approved.
3. Preparation. Reduction is carried out against the mock-up; an impression or scan is taken and temporary veneers are fitted.
4. Laboratory. The porcelain is produced, characterised and given surface texture. This stage is the work that makes a veneer look natural.
5. Try-in and shade check. The veneers are tried in with try-in paste before bonding. If the shade is not right, they are remade.
6. Bonding. The tooth surface is prepared, the adhesive system applied and the veneers bonded. The bite is checked, excess cement removed and the margins polished.

The whole sequence usually takes five to seven working days in a single visit. For patients travelling within the city the same stages run as separate appointments.

The fifth step is critical for anyone travelling for treatment. The try-in is the last decision point before the veneers are bonded permanently. Because our laboratory is in the building, a shade you dislike can be remade within the same visit; where the laboratory is off site, the same change costs three days — and those three days usually do not exist.

"Do veneers stain?" has no one-word answer, and a quote that gives one is worth treating with caution.

The glassy surface of E-max porcelain does not absorb liquid. Unlike natural enamel it does not take on permanent colour from tea, coffee, red wine or smoking — that is a real and significant advantage.

Superficial staining does accumulate on the surface, and it is removed at a routine clean. What genuinely deserves discussion is the margin: the fine line where the veneer meets the tooth can discolour slightly over the years. It is the most commonly raised aesthetic complaint about veneers, and it is corrected during routine cleaning and polishing.

We say this at the outset, because learning it afterwards produces both disappointment and an unnecessary argument about the guarantee. Margin staining is not a defect; it is an ordinary development managed by maintenance.

How well the margin seals depends on bonding technique and laboratory work. Removing every trace of excess cement and polishing the margin is the most important detail of that appointment.

The single largest factor in how long a veneer lasts is the bite. Whatever the material, thin porcelain working under a load it was not designed for eventually fractures.

Where grinding or clenching is present, that changes the plan in two places. First, material selection: in some cases a thicker veneer or zirconia is more appropriate. Second, a night guard: made after the restorative work is complete, against the teeth you now have, and checked in your mouth before you leave.

The guard is also a condition of our lifetime guarantee. We write that as a balance rather than a restriction: protecting ceramic from a load it was never designed for serves you as much as it serves us.

Where malocclusion is significant it needs resolving before veneers. Aesthetic work carried out without correcting the relationship between the arches hides the problem rather than removing it — and the load concentrates at the thinnest point, which is the veneer.

We assess your bite separately at the consultation and show you any wear facets. Most patients do not know they grind; the first person to tell them is usually a dentist.

Veneer aftercare is not difficult, but it is not optional. Porcelain does not decay; the natural tooth beneath it and the gum around it can.

• Brushing twice daily with a soft brush, paying attention to the gum margin.
• Daily interdental cleaning — floss or an interdental brush.
• A check-up and professional clean every six months; the margins are polished at those appointments.
• A night guard if you grind.
• No biting hard objects, no nail-biting, no chewing ice, no opening packaging with your teeth. Porcelain is hard but it does not flex.
• Avoid abrasive whitening toothpastes — they dull the glaze, and a dulled surface picks up stain more easily.

With those conditions met, a well-made veneer serves for many years. We do not quote a fixed number, because what decides it is the mouth rather than the veneer: the bite, the hygiene and whether you grind.

If a veneer does fracture, repair is usually not possible and that unit is remade. The good news is that the neighbouring veneers are unaffected — because they are bonded individually, replacing one does not disturb the others.

Like every treatment carried out here, laminate veneers carry a lifetime guarantee on materials and workmanship. What it covers and what falls outside it — accidental damage, neglect, missed recommended check-ups, not wearing the prescribed night guard — is set out in writing.

Three options, three separate indications. Confusing them is what leads patients to have more done than they needed.

A good plan is usually mixed: veneers on four front teeth, bonding on one chipped edge, a crown on a root-treated molar. Choosing one solution for the whole mouth is easy, and it is a plan built around a product rather than around teeth.

At the consultation you are told what is planned for each tooth and why. Where the less invasive option is never discussed, no choice has actually been made.

Most of what happens after veneers are bonded is ordinary, and knowing what is normal prevents unnecessary worry.

Sensitivity. Because the enamel surface is etched, there can be sensitivity to cold in the first days. If it is steadily decreasing, it is ordinary. If it is increasing, lingers well after the cold has gone, or wakes you at night, it is different and needs assessing.

The gums. The gum margin is worked on during bonding, so mild tenderness and redness for a few days is expected and settles within a week. Where it does not, the usual cause is residual cement at the margin, which needs removing — tell us if it persists.

Speech. If the length or thickness of the front teeth has changed, some sounds may feel different for a few days. The tongue adapts quickly. If it lasts beyond a week the length or thickness can be adjusted — though this is something the mock-up stage should have caught, which is exactly why the mock-up exists.

The bite. If you feel contact at one specific point when biting, say so. A veneer left high is both uncomfortable and at greater risk of fracture; the adjustment takes minutes.

For the first forty-eight hours the one practical instruction is to avoid very hard and sticky food. The adhesive bond reaches its full strength within the first day, but a few careful days while habits settle does no harm.