Tucson Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers can give you a new smile, dramatically altering your appearance and making you look younger and more attractive. A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain custom fit to each individual tooth. Porcelain veneers are a conservative treatment option suitable for correcting aesthetic problems in healthy teeth. For example, veneers can fix teeth that are chipped, broken, unattractively shaped, or stained.
Our veneers are made of strong porcelain that offers the color gradation and pearlescence of natural teeth, and resists stains.
Dr. Steinberg’s Smile Design Procedure
After an initial exam to make sure your teeth are healthy enough for veneers, Dr. Steinberg will sit down with you and discuss your optimal smile. Using your input and his expertise, he will have your new smile created in a waxup. That waxup will then be used to create a provisional smile makeover for you. He’ll put that on your teeth so that you’ll get to “test drive” your new smile, to make sure it meets all your expectations. He’ll ask for your feedback so that he can make any needed adjustments.
As a prosthodontist, Dr. Steinberg has had extensive training in the art and mechanics of smile design, ensuring that the finished smile complements your personality, the shape of your face, the hue of your skin and lips, and the size of your mouth. He will carefully plan for occlusion so your teeth meet perfectly when you speak and eat.
If veneers aren’t made well, the result can be:
- A smile that looks unnatural
- Whistling or lisping when you speak
- Getting your lip caught on your teeth
- Discomfort when closing your mouth
- Strain on your sensitive jaw joints
Placing Your New Smile
Once you and he are satisfied that the provisional veneers meet all of these requirements and give you the look you want, he will perform any necessary tooth preparation and take impressions of your mouth with a digital scanner. It will record the precise three-dimensional image of each tooth and the nuances of your gums. That will be sent to his master ceramist who will re-create your provisional smile makeover in porcelain.
Next, you’ll come to the office for a try-in appointment, where Dr. Steinberg will temporarily place the veneers on your teeth, so you can see exactly how they will look when they’re bonded. If you love the way they look, you’ll return for one more appointment so he can permanently bond them to your teeth. If you don’t love your new smile, Dr. Steinberg will send it back to the lab for changes. That’s his beautiful smile guarantee—he won’t bond them on until you love them.
Traditional Versus Ultrathin Veneers
A traditional veneer is about half a millimeter thick. To make space for veneers, Dr. Steinberg will remove a small amount of enamel from the front of each tooth. This tooth prep is minimal. Ultrathin veneers can be made about half that thickness and, in some cases, no tooth preparation will be needed.
This patient opted for ultrathin, no-prep veneers:
Dr. Steinberg restored this patient’s smile with traditional porcelain veneers.
Maintaining Your Porcelain Veneers
If you take good care of your veneers, they will last for decades. It’s important to:
- Maintain good dental hygiene
- Come in for regular dental cleanings
- Wear a mouthguard during contact sports and if you grind your teeth at night
If you’d like to make an appointment with Dr. Steinberg and learn more about porcelain veneers, please call our office at 520-886-3030. You can also request an appointment using this form, and we will call you to set up your appointment.
Click here to watch a video testimonial from Heather, who received a smile makeover with porcelain veneers from Dr. Steinberg.
Mary also had Dr. Steinberg give her a smile makeover. Click to hear her describe her experience.
