Uses of Ceramic Veneers

In all cases, proper indications, diagnosis, and treatment planning will yield the best results for your patient. You never attempt to correct severe crowding or tooth misalignment with permanent or temporary veneers; instead, consider orthodontics. The final outcome is benefited by performing professional-grade tooth bleaching prior to tooth preparation.

Stomadent offers three different material types for dental veneers, each with their own distinct applications and advantages:

• Empress Esthetic
• e.Max veneers
• Zirconia

All are much thinner and more resistant to breakage when compared to stacked traditional porcelain veneers. Each ceramic veneer option is fabricated in our state-of-the-art dental laboratory using CAD/CAM technology for a precise fit every time.

IPS Empress Esthetic Veneers are composed of leucite glass-ceramic — a glassy matrix with potassium aluminosilicate crystals. The leucite crystals are formed in a controlled process yielding a material with increased strength. The propagation of cracks is slowed or deflected entirely by the leucite crystals.

With Empress Veneers, highly esthetic restorations possess true-to-nature light scattering and a balanced chameleon effect. The material can also be custom-stained, either internally or externally, for perfect color blending with the neighboring teeth.

Advantages of IPS Empress Esthetic veneers:

• Treats cosmetic flaws like tooth discoloration, gaps, crooked or uneven teeth, stains, and chipped teeth
• Strong materials and high standards
• Looks natural in outside or artificial lighting

e.Max Veneers are made from lithium disilicate ceramic. Its translucent and reflective properties emulate enamel and blend with adjacent teeth, producing a seamless appearance. Everyone will be hard pressed to determine which teeth have been treated with e.Max veneers.

The ceramic is stronger and more fracture-resistant than stacked Feldspathic porcelain. Lithium disilicate ceramic stands up to wear. The finished product is highly glazed and polished.

It can be custom-characterized for an even more natural look using IPS stains. e.Max may also be fused to a stronger material, such as zirconia, for additional strength or masking dark areas in the tooth preparation.

Advantages of e.Max veneers:

• Blends with adjacent teeth
• Can be fused with stronger material like Zirconia for added strength
• Stronger and more fracture-resistant than porcelain veneers

Composed of zirconium dioxide, Zirconia Veneers are the newest entrant to the veneers market. This 100% biocompatible material is the same ceramic material used in non-metallic medical joint replacements.

Zirconia veneers’ natural appearance is created by milling from pressed solid blocks that are free of voids and imperfections. Finishing via baking at ultra-high temperatures produces a glistening surface that is beautiful and nearly indestructible.

Zirconia is extremely strong without having the bulky appearance of porcelain. It is resistant to wear and difficult to crack. With more flexural resistance than other glass-ceramic dental materials currently on the market, Zirconia is a superior choice for bruxism patients.

Zirconia veneers’ natural appearance is created by milling from pressed solid blocks that are free of voids and imperfections. Finishing via baking at ultra-high temperatures produces a glistening surface that is beautiful and nearly indestructible. They also allow for excellent retention of the natural tooth structure by using resin ionomer cement.

Advantages of Zirconia veneers:

• 100% biocompatible material
• Strong without a bulky appearance
• The superior choice for bruxism patients

Keep in mind that different types of veneers and ceramic materials require different teeth preparation methods.

No-Prep Veneer Techniques

No-prep veneers require nothing more than roughening of the tooth surface in order to improve adhesion and conserve enamel for improved bonding. The no-prep technique preserves the maximum amount of tooth structure and reduces or eliminates tooth sensitivity.

Patients prefer them due to no drilling or injections, but aesthetics with these composite veneers may not be perfect, especially in profile.

This type of preparation requires minimal anatomic tooth reduction — roughly 0.3 mm in depth, facially — to create space for the veneers without adding bulk to the tooth in the facial or interproximal dimensions. The finish lines of the tooth preparation are located just anterior to the interproximal contacts.

This minimal tooth reduction creates space for veneers and dental cement without adding bulk, preserving natural tooth structure and hiding margins. Additionally, anesthesia is often unnecessary, depending on patient comfort levels.

A traditional preparation requires a much more aggressive tooth reduction — similar to the type of preparation required for porcelain veneers. This technique may be used to reduce a single tooth that is misaligned slightly facially in relation to neighboring teeth.

Some drawbacks to this preparation technique include: increased postoperative tooth sensitivity, reduced bond strength when the veneer must be cemented to dentin, and the patient must be anesthetized in order to perform tooth reduction that involves dentin or more than the superficial outer layer of enamel.

While our dental lab can handle whichever method you are set up for, digital impressions allow us to create a better final product for your patients.

Impression-Free Digital Scans

The veneer preparation, hard tissue, and surrounding soft tissues are scanned at chairside and transferred to the dental lab digitally.

Hybrid Scans and Impressions

Impressions and a bite registration are individually scanned into STL files, then images are created and used to print 3D models in the dental lab.

Traditional Impressions

Errors may be introduced at every step of the process, which can create the potential for a less-than-perfect fit of the finished veneers.