[No-Prep Veneers] Teeth Dissolved by Acid Reflux -- the Miracle of Full-Mouth Restoration With the Sandwich Technique

Hello. With 20 years in one location in Apgujeong and 28 years as a practicing dentist,

I'm Dr. Park Jonguk, a specialist in esthetic, tooth-preserving treatment for front teeth.

Next year, Dream Dental Clinic will mark its 20th anniversary.

Over these many years of practice, the moment I find most rewarding

is when a patient who came to me after receiving the devastating diagnosis at another clinic that "all their teeth need to be cut down and crowned"

is given the hope that "your teeth can be saved without cutting them down," and I get to prove it with the result.

Today, through the case of a patient

whose entire upper arch was severely eroded due to acid reflux,

I'd like to show you the essence of state-of-the-art tooth-preserving techniques

that protect natural teeth — the Sandwich Technique and no-prep veneers.

1. The Patient's Despair: "Do My Remaining Teeth All Have to Be Cut Down Too?"

The patient had suffered from acid reflux for a long time,

and stomach acid that had backed up into her mouth had gradually dissolved the enamel of her teeth —

a state known as dental erosion.

She had already visited several clinics and had the broken areas patched with resin,

but on a tooth surface weakened by acid, the resin kept discoloring

or coming loose without much effort at all.

The bigger problem was that everywhere she went,

she was told, "Your teeth are too badly damaged; now every tooth in your upper arch needs to be covered with an all-ceramic crown,"

at clinic after clinic.

With so much tooth structure already lost to acid,

the teeth were as thin as they could possibly be,

and the fact that crowning would mean cutting away even more of what little healthy structure remained

left the patient feeling deeply hopeless when she came to our clinic.

2. Precision Diagnosis: Redesigning the Smile and Bite in Three Dimensions

This case went far beyond simply making one or two front teeth look pretty.

Because the vertical dimension of the bite had been lowered by the erosion,

we had to approach it from the perspective of full mouth rehabilitation, rebuilding the entire oral structure.

[Photos 1, 2] Analysis of the initial condition

As you can see in the photos, the destruction on the lingual (inner) surface of the front teeth is very severe.

This is because acid erosion tends to progress starting from the palatal side.

The back teeth (molars) also had hollowed-out biting surfaces, and even around precisely fitted

gold inlays, erosion had spread and function was lost.

[Photos 3, 4, 5] Wax-up precision diagnosis and mounting

We mounted a model of the patient's mouth on an articulator and carried out a precision analysis.

Through both digital and analog wax-ups, without reducing the teeth by even 0.1mm,

we designed the exact shape of a restoration that would replace only the volume lost to the acid, precisely.

There can be no margin of error, from the biting height of the molars to the esthetic line of the front teeth.

3. The Core of the Treatment: The Sandwich Technique

The solution I chose was not a crown, but the Sandwich Technique.

Instead of cutting the tooth all the way around,

this method attaches a thin veneer, like a sandwich, only over the damaged area.

[Photos 6, 7] Preliminary treatment and resin removal

The discolored resin that had been layered on thickly over time,

along with secondary decay, was cleanly removed before treatment proceeded.

Even during this step, we preserved as much healthy tooth structure as possible.

[Photos 8, 9] Fabricating the lingual veneers for the front teeth and no-prep onlays for the back teeth

We fabricated the veneers to cover the inner (lingual) surface of the eroded front teeth, and the

no-prep onlays to rebuild the biting surface of the molars.

The material used was e-max, a reinforced ceramic with both esthetics and strength.

[Photo 10] First-stage restoration seating

This shows the restorations bonded first to the inner surfaces of the teeth and the biting surfaces of the molars.

Even though there was no tooth reduction at all, they bonded perfectly, as if they had always been part of the original tooth.

Even at this stage alone, the teeth begin to be protected from acid, and the collapsed bite height starts to recover.

4. Final Result: A Miracle With Not Even 0.1mm of Reduction (Photos 11, 12)

[Photos 11, 12] Seating and completion of the facial veneers on the front teeth

Finally, we fabricated and seated the veneers that would cover the outer (facial) surface of the teeth.

This completed the sandwich structure, with veneers wrapping the tooth from both the inside and outside.

The result of the treatment was truly remarkable.

Teeth that had been severely destroyed regained their original healthy, beautiful shape without a single step of tooth reduction.

The patient was overjoyed, saying, "It feels like a dream that my precious teeth could be treated this perfectly without being cut down at all."

Conclusion: A Dentist's Philosophy Protects Natural Teeth

Treatment technology advances every day,

but what matters most is a dentist's philosophy of cherishing a patient's teeth as if they were their own.

Dental erosion caused by acid reflux or an eating disorder brings both physical and emotional pain to a patient.

The fear of "massive tooth reduction" should never be added on top of that.

The combination of the Sandwich Technique and no-prep veneers is one of the finest gifts modern conservative dentistry can offer.

With 28 years of expertise, I will protect your precious natural teeth.

💡 Expert Q&A

Q1. For erosion caused by acid reflux, why are no-prep veneers advantageous?

A. An eroded tooth already has thinned enamel.

Reducing it further for a crown carries a high risk of nerve exposure and shortens its lifespan.

The no-prep approach bonds using 100% of the remaining tooth structure, maximizing the tooth's lifespan.

Q2. Doesn't the Sandwich Technique feel like a foreign object in the mouth?

A. Because a precision wax-up diagnosis reproduces the tooth's original thickness and bite relationship,

after a short adjustment period, it feels as comfortable as your own natural teeth.

Q3. Can a ceramic onlay (veneer) withstand the force on a molar?

A. e-max reinforced ceramic has a strength similar to that of a natural tooth.

In particular, bonding to intact, unreduced enamel is chemically extremely strong, so it holds up well even against the powerful chewing force of the molars.

Q4. Why are veneers better than resin treatment?

A. Resin is vulnerable to discoloration and wear, and it struggles to cover large areas.

Because veneers are made of ceramic, they don't discolor and won't dissolve in acid, making them an ideal protective layer for patients with erosion.

Q5. I'm curious about the treatment cost and duration.

A. For a full-mouth restoration, everything from precision diagnosis to fabrication takes longer than a standard veneer case,

but the long-term benefit of not reducing the teeth — a longer tooth lifespan — is worth far more than can be measured in cost.