If you don’t know exactly what a Smile Lift with Dental Veneers is or if you have any doubts about the step-by-step process, this article is for you.

Claudia’s case

Claúdia is a young patient, whose teeth were very stained by the use of braces for many years, together with some acid erosion.The treatment was carried out in about 2 months and in this article we will go through the process of the making a more harmonious and youthful smile

1. Evaluation/Treatment planIn a first appointment we access the patients concerns and expectations and do a general check-up, photographs, radiographs and clinical examination .

On observation we had:

• Marked enamel stains
• Gingival contour disharmony
• Dental misalignment and midline deviation.

 

2. Case presentation

In a second appointment we explain the procedure necessary to obtain the desired results, the cost of the treatment and its duration.Claudia accepted the treatment plan and initial impressions for the temporaries were made.

3. Tooth preparation appointment

The teeth were prepared ( only to the amount needed to accommodate the ceramic, about 0,2 to 0,5 mm). with minimal wear on their surface and only on the front ( like a contact lens). The gingival line was also regularized with electrosurgery ( gingivoplasty) creating symmetry and making some teeth that were too short a little bit bigger.

The following image illustrates this step with the teeth already slightly prepped and the gingival line smoothed.

After that final impressions were done and sent to the laboratory for the ceramist to make the veneers.

Finally, the temporary veneers were placed. ( made from composite based on the mock-up done by the laboratory, which already gave a preview of the final result).

Temporary veneers, although in terms of shape they are already close to the definitive ones, are very different from these:

• The temporaries are made from composite and the definitive ones are made of ceramic, with ceramic having much better aesthetics, resistance and color stability.
• They are all attached to each other, having a more artificial appearance and preventing the use of dental floss during the provisional phase.
• Much more fragile than the permanent ones, you have to be careful during this phase and not bite food with your front teeth, as the temporary can come off.

You can see in the following image how the patient left the office that day, with the provisionals already in place.

The impressions go to the laboratory where the Ceramist makes the veneers accoding to the previous study, a process that involves many hours of work by highly specialized technicians in this type of procedure, in order to create veneers that are beautiful and natural.

This process usually takes three weeks to a month, after which Claudia returns to the office for a long appointment (about two hours) and the veneers were cemented.

4. Veneer cementation/adhesion

We start by removing the temporary veneers and check the ceramic ones for adaptation and esthetics and we showed Claudia the result for her approval.

If there was anything to change, the work would go back to the lab and we’d make another appointment.

In this case, as in most cases, the patient approved the result, so we proceeded to the chemical preparation of both the ceramic veneers and the surface of the dental enamel so that we could adhere the veneer to the tooth with composite.Adhesion allows the veneer to become part of the tooth, so it does not fall out, despite being a very thin structure and having no mechanical retention.

After bonding, we did the finishing, removing some excess composite that remains after cementation, we see how the occlusion is (how the teeth fit together) detecting and eliminating any premature contact.

5. Final Adjustments and Photos

After two weeks after placement, the patient returns to the office for final adjustments and photographs.In this case, as in most cases, Cláudia was thrilled with her new smile!

I’m very enthusiastic about this procedure as it is a quite predictable treatment, very tooth and gum friendly and will last for 15-20years, or even more!

See the final photos in the images below: