Porcelain laminate veneers are one of the most protective esthetic treatment methods available today, applied only to the front surface of teeth that are discolored due to aging, root canal treatment or old composite fillings, etc., worn/broken over time, misaligned in a way that negatively affects esthetics, crooked or have gaps between them. Porcelain laminate veneers, which cause much less tissue loss from the tooth compared to the full crowns, and are applied without even tissue loss in some special cases; can successfully remain in the mouth for a long time due to their application to the enamel layer of the tooth and the protection of the remaining surfaces of the tooth except the front surface, and are much more advantageous in terms of not causing tooth sensitivity compared to crowns. At the same time, their wear and fracture resistance is much higher than composite veneers and they can be used reliably for many years since they do not carry a risk such as discoloration.
In esthetic cases, the number of teeth that require porcelain laminate veneer application may vary depending on the desired color, position and shape parameters to be changed. In cases where teeth with high levels of discoloration require serious brightening of the color, gaining smile fullness, closing multiple tooth gaps, etc., a more comprehensive treatment that includes the back teeth may be required. However, in cases of milder esthetic disorders, sometimes with a single, sometimes with two laminate veneer applications, both the external esthetic perception and the person’s self-confidence can be significantly improved.
Digital Smile Design
In porcelain laminate veneer applications, the diagnosis phase is of great importance in order to obtain the most ideal result, to be able to foresee the result before starting the treatment, and to protect the dental tissues as much as possible. In order to evaluate the patient’s expectations concretely and to foresee the view that will emerge as a result of the treatment at the beginning, it is possible to evaluate the new situation that will emerge after the laminate veneer application by transferring the digital impressions, digital photographs and the digital model prepared accordingly into the mouth before any intervention. Nowadays, the form and position of the teeth can be arranged after the digital smile design performed by taking the impressions and photographs taken with 3D intraoral scanners as reference. Then, thanks to the silicone indexes obtained from the models produced by 3D printers, this smile design can be transferred into the mouth and the esthetic situation can be evaluated live. At the same time, the thickness of the porcelain laminate veneer to be applied during the treatment process, the amount of abrasion to be made on the tooth, and the adjustments to be made to the soft tissues if deemed necessary can be determined during the treatment plan phase. In this way, both the most ideal esthetic treatment decided by patient-doctor consensus can be reached and long-lasting and reliable laminate veneers can be applied by minimally abrading the teeth.