What are Porcelain Veneers?
Dental veneers are thin coverings bonded to the front surfaces of the teeth. A veneer can change the shape, size and shade of a tooth.
Porcelain veneers are made from a dental ceramic. The material is strong for its thickness and resists staining better than composite resin or natural enamel.
Because a veneer covers the tooth, it can change the shade of a tooth that has not responded to whitening. Whitening and composite veneers work differently and each is appropriate in different circumstances.
IMPORTANT — porcelain veneer treatment involves permanently removing a layer of enamel from the front of otherwise healthy teeth. Enamel does not grow back. Once teeth are prepared, they will require veneers or crowns for life, and those restorations will need replacing periodically at ongoing cost. This is the key fact to weigh before agreeing to treatment.
Veneers and tooth position
Veneers change the front surface of a tooth. They do not move teeth.
Where teeth are mildly irregular, veneers may make them appear more even. Where teeth are significantly crowded or rotated, or where the bite is the underlying problem, orthodontic treatment addresses the cause and generally involves far less loss of tooth structure. Using veneers to avoid orthodontic treatment can mean removing considerably more enamel than would otherwise be necessary, and is not appropriate in every case.
Which approach suits you is a clinical judgement made after examination. Your dentist should explain the alternatives and the reasons for recommending one over another.
Our Warranty
We provide a five-year limited warranty on porcelain veneers.
What it covers: breakage of the veneer material. What it does not cover: pre-existing dental disease, newly developing dental disease unrelated to the veneers, or damage caused by trauma or by habits such as grinding.
Condition of the warranty: you must attend a routine six-monthly scale and clean at one of our Sydney practices. Where you do not attend, the warranty does not apply.
Maintenance Appointments
A scale and clean with our oral health therapists is $219 without private health cover.
Where you hold private health insurance with dental extras cover, our new patient scale and clean is offered with no out-of-pocket cost.
Porcelain veneers cost in Sydney
Published price guides put porcelain veneers in Sydney at around $2,000 per tooth. This is an indicative figure drawn from published sources rather than a quote, and fees vary between practices and between cases.
Fees at North Sydney Dentistry
Porcelain veneers are available with a payment plan from $57 per week. This is a repayment amount, not the total cost of treatment.
Your treatment plan with the full final cost is provided in writing before treatment begins.
Health Fund benefits
Some private health insurance policies with major dental extras cover include a benefit for veneers. Ask your fund whether item number 556, porcelain veneer per tooth, is covered under your policy, and check any waiting periods and annual limits.
Risks and Limitations
Porcelain veneers are elective cosmetic treatment and carry risks that should be explained to you before you proceed:
- irreversible enamel removal, committing the teeth to restorations permanently
- tooth sensitivity, usually temporary but sometimes persistent
- gum irritation, and recession over time exposing the veneer margin
- chipping, cracking or debonding, generally requiring replacement rather than repair
- the possibility that a prepared tooth requires root canal treatment or extraction
- colour that cannot be altered once made and may not match natural teeth as they age
- a finite lifespan requiring periodic replacement
Veneers are generally not appropriate where there is active decay or gum disease, insufficient enamel, significant grinding, or a bite that would place excessive force on the front teeth.
Results vary between individuals and no outcome can be guaranteed.
To find out whether veneers are suitable for your case, contact North Sydney Dentistry to arrange a consultation.