Veneers: What is best for you?

Direct Resin Veneers Vs Ceramic

Conservative

At Belle Dental Newcastle, we believe in being as careful and conservative with your teeth as is humanly possible – to this end, we will never remove a speck more tooth than is necessary to achieve your restorative and cosmetic goals. Therefore, when it comes to recommending veneers for teeth, even though we offer ceramic veneers, why would you choose to grind down your front teeth when we can, in many cases, provide your cosmetic goals WITHOUT THE LOSS OF ANY TOOTH? Not only are our resin veneers more conservative, they can be between ⅓ to ½ the fee of the equivalent ceramic veneers. (virtually all the makeover cases shown on this site are direct resin veneers placed by Dr Alex Huszti at Belle Dental Newcastle). For many people, the cost of full mouth build-ups with ceramic crowns / veneers is simply prohibitive.

Cost

Because direct composite resin veneers for teeth do not require the use of a dental laboratory, they can be completed in ONE VISIT and at a reduced cost to you (compared to ceramic veneers). This also means there’s no need for temporary veneers (notorious for coming off between visits) while the ceramic veneers are being made up by the lab. Because there is no lab involved in the direct composite resin veneers – we pass that cost saving on to you.

Tougher

It is well known that plastics are tougher than glass. This is also true of direct composite resin as compared to dental ceramics. Modern composite resins are around 70% by weight fine ceramic particles in a resin matrix. The ceramic i.e. glass particles provide the cosmetic, tooth-like appearance of the material, while the resin matrix provides the impact toughness i.e. resilience of the material. This is why if you inadvertently bite into chicken sandwich with a small bone in it, the resin matrix of composite resin is able to flex slightly and resist the sudden force while 100% ceramic (ie glass) veneers are more likely to crack.

In the event of a veneer cracking, ceramic is difficult to repair – usually, a new ceramic veneer needs to be made (although the ceramic can be repaired with composite resin but the match will not be perfect). With direct composite resin an invisible repair can be conducted on the spot. It is cheap and simple compared to the repair of glass.

Adjustability

Most people that see me about cosmetic dentistry have definite ideas on what they want to have changed about their smile. Once we have created a new smile in direct composite resin, we can then proceed to customization of the smile in relation to the contours of the veneers, length, shape and bite. Composite resin lends itself to easy adjustments – this allows us to deliver a cosmetic result that is as close as possible to your ideal smile. With ceramic veneers for teeth, we are relying on the interpretation of the dental technician to deliver a result that is close to your ideal smile – this is because there is less adjustment available for ceramic veneers.

Beauty

Ultimately, ceramic is always going to deliver a more cosmetic result – BUT – how much more cosmetic? Will your friends notice the difference between ceramic and composite resin veneers? The new resins have a higher degree of poishability, excellent stain resistance and are tough.

Think Direct Resin AND Ceramic!

All restorative (and cosmetic dentistry) has a lifespan. We believe that the direct resin veneers will start to look tired in 8-12 years. In this time frame, there will be surface deterioration of the resin but the bond to tooth structure should still be good. It may be an excellent consideration at this time to use the model of what has been cosmetically pleasing and functionally sound to make the switch to ceramic, if desired. We could conceivably, prepare the resin veneers (still without loss of tooth) for the ceramic style veneers and deliver an outcome that is almost identical to what the patient has been wearing – except in ceramic. If the patient has been happy with resin and would like to stick with resin veneers, the composite resin veneers can be renewed, again without the loss of tooth structure. The key consideration throughout this restorative progression is that by saving tooth – all options remain open at each stage of renewal.