Are you looking into the possibility of getting veneers or Lumineers, but can't decide which will be the best option for you? Both are veneers, which is a treatment option that can cover discoloured or broken teeth to restore your smile and boost your confidence. However, the main difference is what these two options are made from.
Lumineers are a brand of veneer manufactured by DenMat Dental Laboratory, and they're only offered through some dentists. Porcelain veneers are, of course, made from porcelain and are much more widely available.
There are a few small distinct differences between these two veneers, so choosing which one to go for can seem impossible. Today we'll be looking into treatments, features, cost, and much more to help you choose between Lumineers and porcelain veneers.
During your initial consultation for Lumineers, we'll need to make sure your underlying teeth and gums are in perfect health. Any issues diagnosed beforehand, such as gum disease or tooth decay, need to be treated beforehand. We'll take X-rays and bite impressions to make sure we can perfect your teeth with Lumineers so they're exactly as you want them.
Your second appointment will be where we'll bond the Lumineers to your teeth. We'll use a bonding substance to make sure they last for decades before polishing them until they're completely smooth.
Once the Lumineers are all in place, we'll finish up by looking at your bite impressions to see where your teeth join naturally. We'll separate these to make your smile look as natural and gorgeous as possible, before letting you go home with your new pearly whites!
We start your porcelain veneer treatment approach with a consultation to assess your tooth condition and discuss the veneer procedure in more detail. Here you'll be able to tell us about your smile goals so we can strive to achieve them as much as possible in your treatment plan!
We'll also use our 3D printer and digital scanner to perfectly match the veneers to your natural teeth.
Once we get to your fitting appointment, we'll need to prep the teeth quickly beforehand. This includes removing a small amount of tooth enamel to make room for the new teeth caps. We'll numb you beforehand and might send you away again with a set of temporary veneers before fitting the permanent ones.
We'll bond a thin layer of porcelain to the teeth we're treating, focusing on any problem areas you want to fix such as spaces, gaps, crooked teeth, and discolouration. We'll use a bonding resin to fuse the porcelain to your teeth to make them permanent. Once your new smile is finished, you'll be able to go home straight away!
Lumineers don't need to prepare your teeth for their bonding, making the treatment duration much shorter than typical porcelain veneers. However, as you'll still need multiple appointments to check your teeth and attach the veneers, you're looking at between four and six days from start to finish. However, if you have dental issues that need treatment before the Lumineers are placed, you'll likely be waiting longer as treatment finishes.
Fitting porcelain veneers is no quick feat, as it'll usually take around three weeks from start to finish. These weeks will be full of visits to our dentists to tailor the process to your teeth. However, thanks to our digital scanner and 3D printer here at Gorgeous Smiles, we'll manage to condense these visits as much as possible. Some porcelain veneers can even be placed as a same-day treatment!
Learn more about whether porcelain veneers are a viable treatment option for you.
The new technological features of Lumineers let you achieve the perfect smile:
Lumineers use thinner and more translucent pieces of porcelain than traditional porcelain veneers, making them appear more natural in the long run as they let your natural teeth shine through. However, this also makes them less suited for people with severe discolouration.
Lumineers are semi-permanent and they don't require any prep work to be done to your teeth before you can have them installed. This means that they can be removed from your tooth's surface with minimal damage, so if you need them replaced, you won't need to wear temporary veneers until you can be seen again.
We offer a few technological features when placing porcelain veneers, including:
Our digital scanners and 3D printers let us get a comprehensive view of the inside of your mouth, helping us to tailor your new smile to your face. This offers much more detail than we could achieve without it, making your new teeth look as natural and perfect as possible.
The last thing you want when installing veneers is a bulky material that makes the teeth look too protruding and fake. We use a thin layer of porcelain only, making sure the veneers don't look too thick to be natural, preventing it from being obvious that you've had dental work done.
Lumineers often require less preparation of the tooth's surface, so they might be offered at a slightly decreased price. On average, you're looking at around $2,100 per tooth when getting Lumineers, although you might get a discount depending on how many teeth you're planning on treating. Lumineers also tend to last longer than porcelain veneers, so the lower price only adds to the better value for money!
Porcelain veneers are one of the more expensive options for cosmetic dentistry, so they can cost around $2,036 per tooth in Australia (according to Australia's national dental fee surgery). You might be offered a discount if you're getting more than one tooth covered, but other places might not have this as an option. Regular insurance doesn't often cover porcelain veneers as they're a cosmetic change.
The majority of Lumineer customers were incredibly satisfied with their treatment, especially considering the shorter treatment time and longevity of their new veneers. They praised the initial consultation process and how natural the porcelain looked over their original smile. Only a small handful were unhappy with the results due to the translucency of the porcelain, as this meant their discolouration could still be seen through some of the veneers.
Most customers are super happy with their porcelain veneer experience and would recommend them to anyone. They found the consultation process really informative and reassuring. Even though it wasn't the quickest treatment process, most customers mentioned that they'd do it all over again as the results were more than worth it.
Lumineers customer support is often excellent, and your dentist will offer you several points of contact should you have any questions or concerns. Lumineers last from 10 to 20 years, which is a dramatic time jump, so make sure you keep these customer support contact details should you need any help with prematurely ageing veneers or loose fittings.
We offer premium customer service when you come to us for your porcelain veneer treatment. We can offer less face-to-face time thanks to our technology letting us fit the majority of veneers in just one session, but that doesn't mean we'll leave you without any support. We'll give you aftercare information and contact details so you can ask as many questions and get as much support as possible, whenever and wherever you need it.
The aftercare instructions you'll be given to take home with you after Lumineer installation is pretty much the same as with natural teeth. Simply brush your teeth twice a day and floss between them daily, too! Your dentist will most likely recommend a teeth cleaning and checkup every six months to make sure your new smile is responding well and holding up, and that there aren't any signs of dental decay.
The aftercare instructions that come with porcelain veneers are also quite simple and easy for you to follow, with most dentists just suggesting that you brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily. We'll ask you to attend regular checkups to make sure your dental health is monitored, but these should only be every six months. Porcelain veneers should last between 10 and 15 years, so you shouldn't need them replaced any time soon, either.
Lumineers and porcelain veneers are very similar, but there are some key differences between the two. Porcelain veneers seem to last longer and are better for fixing major discolouration, and they might even be more durable in the long run. Why not book a no-strings-attached consultation with us today to see whether we can turn that frown upside down with a completely new, gorgeous smile?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
