You can think of a dental porcelain veneer a lot like a contact lens, but for your teeth! Porcelain veneers are extremely thin (0.3mm, about the thickness of a business card) sheets of porcelain that are bonded to the front of your tooth. Porcelain is the best veneer material of choice because it most naturally replicates human enamel. They are used to change the shape, color, size, and symmetry of the teeth and smile.
Please browse our veneer Smile Gallery page to see our patient’s dramatic transformations and why we are considered the best veneer dentists.
"I came in they took a bunch of pictures, did a wax-up, scanned my teeth which was amazing. The technology here is just incredible. I opted to go under sedation for the preparation process to go into the temporaries which were wonderful...Three weeks later I came back and had my permanent porcelain veneers put in and I'm telling you, it's a game changer."
Atlanta Dental Spa uses three types of porcelain systems; Empress, Emax, and Feldspathic Porcelain. In our efforts to give you the best veneer dental experience, we also offer variations of No-Prep veneers like Ultraveneers and Durathins. The actual term used is biocompatible lithium disilicate glass ceramic – quite a mouthful! These are recognized as the most superior systems available in cosmetic dentistry, and these are the materials our skilled dentists have used in all of their best veneer award-winning cases. Here are examples of different Emax ingot options. Opal 1 and 2 are on the left, No Prep Veneer ingots are on the right. Dr. Boulden actually has the Opal ingot in his own mouth! Look at the veneers on a black background, don’t they look incredible?
Getting veneers shouldn't be difficult. At ADS, the first step in the porcelain veneer process is for you to come in for a consultation and discuss your options. This is your chance to interview us, and for us to show you what’s possible! We’ll take digital images of your teeth and smile, and we’ll talk about your objectives, whether it’s closing spaces, straightening, whitening, etc.
Your pictures are displayed in a private environment on a high-definition LCD display. Our dentists are experienced listeners. They will spend time with you looking at your photographs and listening to what you have to say about your smile. This is where veneer smile artistry comes into play.
We’ll show you pictures of amazing smiles to see what appeals to you and we’ll offer guidance for which smile might best veneer match the shape and contours of your face. You’ll see hundreds of examples of our own cosmetic dentistry work.
Our entire team is dedicated to understanding what you are looking for. We offer custom treatment plans for treatment of all scope, whether it’s only two porcelain veneers, or a full-mouth restoration of 28 teeth. You’ll receive the best porcelain veneer treatment plan personalized for achieving your goals and we’ll walk you through the details. By the time this veneer appointment is finished our doctors will have created the formula that will give you EXACTLY the best veneer smile you want, and more than you might have thought possible!
Once we’ve established the cosmetic plan for your veneer smile we make impressions (models) of your mouth and teeth. These are sent with detailed instructions to a Master Ceramist. We choose the best veneer ceramists in the country, based on your specific veneers plan. We communicate with them every step of the way to give you the results you want.
The ceramist will mount your models on a chewing simulator machine and place wax on the teeth to mimic what your veneers will look like. This “wax-up” blueprint ensures the restorations will function properly in your mouth.
Atlanta Dental Spa is concerned not only about your veneer smile looking fabulous, but we also want the results to be functionally long-lasting!
The wax-up serves two purposes: 1) It allows you and the doctor to preview the end result BEFORE we ever start working in your mouth, and 2) provides a template from which we will design your temporary veneers. The wax-up gives us a great starting point for forming your temporaries in the most conservative way possible. Your temporaries will look beautiful, and they allow you to test drive your new veneer smile.
Following the wax-up, we’re ready to proceed with the actual dental procedure. We’ll do any necessary contouring of the tooth, ensuring that we’re being as conservative as possible. We’ll numb and prepare your teeth to make models on which the actual veneers are made.
The contouring will vary based on our wax-up blueprint. We often do combination cases, where some teeth receive contouring and others are left untouched. For example, if we have a case with ten veneers there might be some teeth for which we do traditional porcelain veneer preparation and others we may be able to handle with a “no-prep” process.
At Atlanta Dental Spa we don’t grind teeth down to nubs – OUCH! This approach is WAY TOO AGGRESSIVE. Being conservative with tooth reduction requires more skill by the dentists so we’re proud to be among the elite class who are dedicated to providing the BEST veneer results for you.
After we have contoured your teeth we will fit you with the dental temporaries that have been created from your wax-up. The wax-up is your road map, and the temporaries are your test drive. You’re almost at the finish line!
This test drive gives us the opportunity to make modifications, whether functional or cosmetic. We can make adjustments if they’re too long, too short, too round, etc. You’ll get to identify those changes as we move toward fabricating your permanent perfect veneers with our master ceramist. You’ll wear the temporaries for about three weeks, giving you ample time for alterations.
Cosmetic dentistry has changed significantly over the years. The porcelain veneer systems we have today are technologically much different than they were in the past. You may have seen veneers that remind you of Chiclets. That look is indicative of old-school dentistry, where very opaque and monochromatic porcelain was used, OR it was a porcelain crown fused to metal.
Getting veneers with our advanced technology that we have today produces realistic natural looking veneers that are:
✓ Stronger
✓ More translucent, like your natural teeth
✓ Super thin
✓ The best veneer option for creating a beautiful, natural smile!
With proper home care and a bite guard, your porcelain veneers should last anywhere from 15 to 20 years. Like most things we have in life, the better we take care of them, the longer they will last. Maintenance can be as simple as using the best floss for veneers or the type of food you eat. This doesn’t mean you’re limited in the foods you eat, like corn on the cob or biting into an apple. Veneers should be an enhancement to your day-to-day, not a limitation. So, if you're looking for where to get porcelain veneers done in Atlanta, we invite you to visit any of our conveniently located Atlanta Dental Spa Offices.
Porcelain veneers should look and feel as natural as your teeth. This means you can brush, floss, and eat all the foods you love. Atlanta Dental Spa porcelain veneers will not stain nearly as quickly as your natural teeth would, and we have specialized polishing agents that your experienced Dental Hygienist will use when you have your teeth cleaned. This will ensure that your porcelain veneers remain as shiny and new as they were on the day you got them. This is some of the detail work we're proud of and has repeatedly made us the best place for getting veneers in the US. Come in and experience the difference for yourself.
The answer is no, yes, and maybe. Most of the time, when dealing with cosmetic dentistry, it seems like a convoluted answer, but the amount of pain when getting veneers varies considerably based on the amount of reduction to the tooth. Old-school dentists who cause a lot of destruction in the veneer process will cause quite a bit of pain.
At Atlanta Dental Spa, we pride ourselves on being as conservative as possible when dealing with cosmetic dentistry. Most of the time, we don't reduce your original tooth further than within your enamel. That outer surface of your tooth doesn’t have any triggers of sensitivity, so our patients don’t complain about sensitivity with their veneers. Being conservative with our cosmetic dentistry means your teeth don’t become sensitive, and you’re preserving all your natural enamel.
If you're looking for the best veneer dental experience, we encourage you to book a consultation with us today.
Getting veneers to maintain their whiteness often brings up this question. One of the best benefits of porcelain veneers is that they provide a beautiful white smile, which is why they are considered cosmetic dentistry. Porcelain is similar to fine china in that it will not fade or wear over time.
It's important to know that porcelain veneers can be polished but not whitened. If it looks like your veneers have discolored over time, chances are the tooth behind the veneer has changed, or you’re seeing discoloration that has occurred between the veneer and the tooth. If you have concerns about your veneer smile losing whiteness, don't hesitate to get in touch with us, and we’ll work through the various treatment options with you.
We understand cost is a big concern when it comes to porcelain veneers. Typically, veneers are not covered by insurance. Unfortunately, insurance will usually only cover procedures that address broken or damaged things. In many cases, since veneers are cosmetic dentistry, they aren’t covered. There are exceptions when insurance will cover veneers when the tooth (or teeth) previously had a crown or large filling that is now faulty. We can replace faulty dentistry with the modern advantages of porcelain veneers as a component of redoing your whole smile.
The cost of a high-quality veneer at Atlanta Dental Spa starts at approximately $1750 per tooth. The cost depends on several factors, including the materials used, the complexity of the case, and your comprehensive treatment plan. Sometimes, this causes sticker shock, but you have to weigh the inherent costs and benefits of choosing a provider who is dedicated to healthy, safe, beneficial, and cosmetically beautiful procedures.
With cosmetic dentistry, you absolutely get what you pay for. It’s not unheard of to see people hocking $800 veneers, and it’s unfortunate how many times we’ve had to remove those cheap veneers because they’re uncomfortable, not cosmetically pleasing, or just downright unhealthy. Additionally, a lot of the preparations for those cheap veneers have removed way too much tooth structure because of the skill level and education of that dentist.
The old adage is true – you get what you pay for.