A Front Teeth Veneer Process Where You Can Preview the Reduction Amount

There are many reasons for getting front teeth veneers.

Cases where a tooth is chipped or badly discolored, too small or, conversely, too large,

the alignment is slightly poor, or the tooth shape isn't attractive, among others —

sometimes several of these reasons combine and lead a patient to seek treatment.

Whatever the reason for treatment, what matters most is minimizing side effects.

In medicine, there's no treatment with absolutely no side effects.

Veneers are, more than perhaps any other treatment, notorious for their side effects.

It even became a public issue when several celebrities spoke out about side effects from poorly done veneer treatment.

But if you look closely at those severe cases, many of them actually turn out to be all-ceramic crowns, not veneers.

When veneers are done correctly, side effects are quite rare.

So what does correct veneer treatment actually look like?

The most important thing is carrying out accurate treatment based on a proper diagnosis.

This patient was deciding between orthodontics and veneers.

If time allows, I believe orthodontics is generally the best option.

The biggest reason patients choose veneers instead is time constraints.

Some patients choose veneers because, for various reasons, a long course of orthodontic treatment isn't feasible for them.

Another reason is tooth color.

For patients who want their teeth as bright as possible, sometimes no amount of whitening achieves the shade they want.

This is especially true when the skin is quite fair, so even a slightly yellow tint in the teeth stands out much more.

In cases like this, orthodontics alone can't achieve everything the patient wants,

and doing veneers again after orthodontics would double the cost,

so we decided to go with veneers in a single step.

At this point, building the treatment plan is the most important step.

Treatment begins by stepping back and looking from a distance.

One of the most common mistakes dentists make is focusing so much on the teeth that they miss the bigger picture.

In my case, drawing on more than 20 years of experience,

I analyze the teeth by starting with the face before treatment and working through it step by step.

The relationship between the face and the teeth, the tilt and degree of protrusion of the teeth, the positional relationship between the nose and the teeth,

how much of the teeth show when smiling or speaking, and various other factors are all analyzed,

along with the proportion of the teeth and areas for improvement.

Through this range of analysis, we determine how to improve the teeth and how much reduction is needed to achieve that.

Measuring tooth proportion is extremely important.

I use an approach adapted from the RED proportion for this measurement.

It allows the current state of the teeth to be assessed both simply and accurately.

The areas that need improvement become clear.

First, we need to think about how to address the protruding tooth.

Veneers are quite advantageous for bringing a recessed tooth outward,

but they have limitations when it comes to bringing a protruding tooth inward.

And the overall tilt of the front teeth is something that needs to be checked in relation to the face.

While working through how to address these issues, we use wax to build a preview of the expected veneer shape.

This is a process for simulating in advance the tooth shape, degree of protrusion, and angle that the patient wants.

Tooth color and translucency can't be reproduced at this stage.

And to achieve this result, we simulate exactly how much tooth reduction will be needed.

This is the biggest strength and point of difference at our clinic, Dream Dental Clinic.

We show patients the amount of tooth reduction in advance before starting.

Patients can see in advance exactly how much of their own teeth will be shaved down.

We conduct the consultation while reviewing the expected amount of reduction in 3D.

As mentioned earlier, the less tooth structure is removed, the fewer side effects the veneers will have.

I've worked for a very long time to minimize tooth reduction,

and I'm confident that I create some of the most beautiful veneers with less reduction than anyone else.

On this topic, I hold seminars for large numbers of dentists every year.

In many cases, trying to reduce as little as possible ends up producing awkward, artificial-looking front teeth veneers,

so it's extremely important to finish with beautiful teeth while still keeping reduction to a minimum.

The actual amount of tooth reduction ended up being much less than what was planned in the simulation.

In the front teeth veneer treatment I perform, the procedure itself takes a long time on the day,

because I use a microscope to remove the tooth structure little by little, with great precision — even though it takes time,

I do everything I can for the sake of the tooth's health.

The teeth were finished bright, clear, and beautiful.

Because so little tooth structure was removed, there was no sensitivity at all.

With minimal reduction, bonding can be done to the enamel, so the bond strength is quite strong as well.

For the sake of gum health, brushing should be checked periodically,

and we explain in detail how to brush properly to maintain healthy gums after front teeth veneer treatment.

Left: before / Right: after

One detail worth mentioning here —

when the gums on either side aren't symmetrical, the length of the teeth ends up different.

If a single tooth looks longer than the rest, we apply subtle yellow shading so it doesn't visually stand out as longer.

It's these fine details that complete the natural front teeth veneer treatment unique to Dream Dental Clinic.

Since 2006, Dream Dental Clinic