Cost of Porcelain Veneers in Buckhead, Atlanta, Johns Creek

Quite simply, the cost of porcelain veneers can vary greatly. I’m not trying to avoid the question, but it’s a hard one to answer. Veneers aren’t a commodity, they’re more like artwork. It’s no different than asking “how much does a car cost?” Just like there are high-end and luxury cars there are high-end and luxury veneers. That being said, the short answer is anywhere from $500 – $2500, even up to $5000 per tooth. Specifically, if you’re looking for our fees, you can find them at our FAQ page.

Here are a few factors that go in to determining the cost of porcelain veneers:

Skill level of the dentist

Education and Courses to learn how to perform high end dentistry are very expensive. Excellent cosmetic dentists have made an investment in their skill set, in the materials, and in high-end equipment to provide you with the very best esthetic result. While it’s true that most dentists can provide you with veneers, there are multiple facets of the process that only a trained cosmetic dentist can identify such as:

Artistic interpretation of the dentist

Shape of your face: Do you feel you have a round shaped face? A square shaped face? Typically someone with a round or oval face would want to stay away from a more “square shaped” tooth design. The same is true for someone with more of a square shaped face who typically wouldn’t want too round of tooth shape smile design. Let us stress that this is just a general guideline and there are varying degrees of artistic interpretation to ensure harmony and balance between face shape and tooth shape. This is either an inherent skill of the master dentist or a learned skill through copious experience.

Changes that need to be made in your smile: Sometimes there are obvious changes that need to take place in your smile; issues like color, tooth shape, flaring of teeth, etc. These are easy to identify as an “objective” in improving your smile with porcelain veneers. However, there are higher-level adjustments to be made that you might not even notice. There are so many times during a consultation that I’ll ask permission to point out the minutia of what we would ALSO address when we design someone’s new smile. In my opinion, not identifying these (and subsequently not fixing them) makes the difference between an “B+” smile versus an “A+” smile. It is the responsibility of the cosmetic dentist to identify them because he or she acts as the architect who will design and construct your new smile. Here are some examples of things that require expertise to identify during the planning and consultation phase:

• Gum Symmetry – The gumline is the upper boundary of the border of the porcelain veneer. In my opinion, it’s absolutely crucial to establish as much symmetry as possible in the gumline of the smile between right and left. Not only establishing correct and symmetric height of gumline, but also the shape of that border.
• Occlusal Cant – This is a condition where the smile line is NOT aligned with the interpupillary axis. Human’s eyes are very perceptive in determining if something is level. If the smile is not aligned (on a horizontal axis) with the eyes, it can appear as something is “off” with someone’s smile. Metaphorically speaking, it is similar to a picture being crooked on the wall. You simply want to straighten the picture on the wall. It’s not as easy to identify in the plane and confines of one’s face but other people people may be able to sense incongruence in that person’s face.
• Incisal cant – This is a condition in which the line created by the front teeth (where they contact) is not perpendicular to the floor is you were to extend it. To put it another way, it deviates to the left or to the right. In my opinion, this is the most important thing to identify and fix because the front teeth set the cadence for the other teeth in the smile design. If this is off at all then the overall smile will suffer.
• Midline off-center – Ironically, this is NOT as big as a problem as you would think. When the midline is off the center axis of the face, it can still be a very esthetically pleasing smile. In an ideal world, obviously, it should be perfectly aligned with the long axis of the face AND aligned with the cupids bow of the upper lip. On another note, people always ask me about the midline being aligned with the midline of the lowers. That RARELY is a goal unless you’re doing a full mouth rehabilitation and have the ability to control that. Otherwise, when I design smiles, I don’t let the position of the lower midline drive the placement of the upper midline).

Appropriate thickness of the veneers: One of the most obvious signs that someone has porcelain veneers or crowns is that they look bulky. You have surely seen these bulbous teeth that just don’t look natural. Additionally, if there is a grey line on the teeth due to metal (in the case of cheaper crowns), it definitely looks artificial. It takes a skilled cosmetic dentist & master ceramist team to create veneers of appropriate thickness that blend in as naturally as possible. This has everything to do with what is called “emergence profile” from the gum. One thing to look at when examining dental work is to make sure there are some examples of profile views.

Appropriate length of the veneers: The length of veneers is one of the most critical aspects of designing your smile. Earlier it was discussed that the front teeth determine the cadence and tone for the whole smile. Thus, if the length is inaccurate, the entire designed smile will suffer. Teeth that are too short can create a worn, older appearance and can simply look “too big” for one’s face. Perhaps even worse, it could cause phonetic problems by impinging incorrectly with the lower lip in certain pronunciations.

Appropriate color & translucency of final veneers: Color choice is probably the MOST important selection of your process. Not choosing a color that is complimentary with your skin tone, eye color, or hair color will have a detrimental overall effect on the smile. Creating harmony with your existing tones and colors will create a synergistic beauty environment. Additionally, the amount of incisal translucency can have a big effect on how natural teeth look. Personally, I like a degree of translucency at the tip of the teeth around 1.0mm. This is how teeth appear in nature and it helps break up the monotony of color that would exist (think of a chiclet…but not really).

Appropriate type of porcelain veneers: There are really only 2 types of porcelain systems that exist:

• Feldspathic, which is essentially made by mixing porcelain powder and liquid and then baking that in a porcelain oven. They are exceedingly beautiful in the hands of a master feldspathic ceramist. However, they are not as strong as some of the other options that exist.
• Pressed ceramics like Emax or Empress. Emax are new on the scene are are probably the most durable veneer. In fact, I have Emax veneers on my teeth.
• Proprietary brands like UltraVeneers, Durathins, or Lumineers.

Quality of Lab / Ceramist

We only use Master Ceramists at Atlanta Dental Spa. The ceramist plays an EQUALLY important role in the esthetics and functional success of your veneers. Unfortunately, a dentist can buy a veneer from an off-shore laboratory for as little as $69 per tooth. This is dentists can offer veneers for a VERY low price. I often hear, “Doc, I can go down the road and get a veneer for $800!” My response is always the same. If you feel the quality and previous results of that dentist’s cases are going to achieve the results you want than I encourage you to go there.” A master ceramist has exceptional knowledge of how to mimic nature’s beauty. They have exceptional knowledge in correct function & occlusion of your teeth.

Quality of Dental Materials

Dental materials include cements, bonding agents, PVS, etc. Seemingly unimportant factors like the bonding agent and cements have a large bearing on how well your veneers will be bonded to your teeth. It’s rare that, with high-quality cements, bonding agents, and immaculate bonding protocols and techniques, your veneers could just “pop off.” This is a big concern for people when they are interested in getting veneers. With our careful selection of materials and use of only the best ceramists, a displaced veneer is rare.

In summary: Experienced & Artistic Dentist + Master Ceramist + Best Materials = Higher Veneer Price and Best Results

Lower Experienced Dentist + Off Shore Labs (China) + Bargain Materials = Low Dental Price and Subpar Results You Decide!