Highlands Ranch Dentist

Direct or Composite Dental Veneers

In  articles by Dr. Newton Fahl et al in the Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of direct or composite dental veneers as compared to veneers fabricated by dental laboratories. Our Highlands Ranch dentists Dr. Sarah Parsons and Dr. H. Candace DeLapp work to education their patients as to the difference between composite veneers and porcelain dental veneers. Each of these techniques have their own advantages and disadvantages. Dr.’s DeLapp and Parsons serve patients in the Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Centennial, Parker, and Denver Tech Center of Colorado.

Indirect or Porcelain Dental Veneers

Most patients are familiar with porcelain dental veneers from the popular media.  Porcelain veneers are thin laboratory processed porcelain tooth- like- wafers that are bonded to the tooth and are created in the dental laboratory. The advantages of these types of veneers is they are created over a period of several weeks in the laboratory and have been found to be quite durable over the long term.  The disadvantage is the time spent fabricating these in the dental laboratory.  In most instances the time spent in the dental laboratory is between 2-4 weeks depending upon the complexity of the case. Of course… patients wear veneer temporaries to protect the tooth and provide esthetics in this down time. Temporaries are meant to last a short period of time while the veneers are being created by the dental laboratory.  Our Highlands Ranch dentists purposely do NOT want to bond them  too strongly or they are difficult to remove when the porcelain veneers arrive.  Because of this some temporary dental veneers become loose and need to be either replaced or re-temporized while waiting for the laboratory to finish.

Composite Dental Veneers

Composite or Direct dental veneers are fabricated chair-side by the dentist. The advantage of this is the immediate result of the treatment and no need to wear temporaries.  In addition, composite dental veneers are less expensive than their porcelain counter part.  The disadvantage is as a general rule … they do not work as well in complex cases and do not last as long as the indirect veneers fabricated in the laboratory.  The time spent in the dental chair (watching T.V. e.g.) is more as the dentist spends times being the technician and artist.  The composite material while relatively strong  can pick up stain over a period of time.  If you smoke… chew tobacco or drink lots of red wine any cosmetic dental procedure is going to be more challenging.

Call our office today

Please feel free to call and schedule an appointment to see if any cosmetic dentistry is for you.  We offer a free or complimentary “initial” dental consultation with the doctors so you can get and idea of what may be possible. Please call (303) 694-9740 for an appointment today