Are you sick and tired of wanting to fix your smile but not knowing where to begin? Then let us introduce you to two possibilities today - porcelain and Emax veneers. While both use a hardened material over your natural tooth to boost its appearance and your confidence, the main difference is the actual material that they're made from.
Porcelain veneers are, of course, made from porcelain, while Emax veneers are made from a special type of restoration formulated from lithium disilicate glass-ceramic. The former are still more widely available and therefore more commonly used, but Emax veneers are quickly rising in popularity thanks to their many benefits.
Today we're pitting these two types of veneers together as we help you figure out which is best for your smile, covering topics like their costs, treatment approaches, and features.
What We Are Going To Cover:
Porcelain veneers vs emax veneers: Treatment Approach
Porcelain veneers treatment approach
Step 1 - Scans and exams
The first thing we want to do during your initial consultation is to check your tooth condition and make sure that your smile is a good candidate for veneers. We'll look into your smile goals and use our state-of-the-art technology to create some mockups, so you can feel completely confident with your new smile. Our 3D printer and digital scanner will be used here to perfectly match your proposed veneers to your natural teeth.
Step 2 - Preparing your teeth
Porcelain veneers require your teeth to be shaved down slightly so that the hardened material can fit without looking bulky or unnatural. We'll numb you first before removing a little layer of the tooth's enamel to make room for the new teeth gaps. If we're fitting the veneers all in the same appointment, we'll then move on to step three, but if you're going home between appointments, we'll fit you with some temporary veneers so you can go home with a natural-looking mouth.
Step 3 - Bonding the veneer materials to your teeth
Now we're ready to fit your permanent teeth, we'll use a bonding resin to fuse the caps to your natural teeth to fix any problem areas you used to have. We'll focus on the goals you mentioned during your initial appointment, including discolouration, crooked teeth, and gaps to make sure you're completely happy with your new teeth. Once we're finished and you're happy with the results, you'll be able to head home!
Learn more about
porcelain veneers as a new smile treatment to see if it's right for you.
Emax veneers treatment approach
Step 1 - Initial comprehensive consultation
First things first, you'll need to get an initial consultation where you'll discuss your teeth goals with your dentist to see whether Emax veneers are for you. Here you'll be able to choose the colour, shape, and number of teeth you want fixing, and you'll be able to learn about the different types of veneers to make sure Emax is the one you want to go with.
Step 2 - Tooth preparation and digital impressions
Thanks to the thinner layers of material used, Emax veneers typically require less enamel shaving on your natural teeth. This means that the second step should take less time than porcelain veneers. Once the teeth are prepared, you'll get digital impressions so your veneers can be custom-made in a dental laboratory.
Step 3 - Custom-made veneers bonded to your teeth
You'll come back once your new veneers are made and have them bonded to your teeth with a special material. This process tends to be a long one as your dentist will be meticulous with fitting the teeth correctly to leave you with the best results, hopefully achieving all your teeth goals mentioned in your initial consultation. Once the teeth are bonded and polished, you should be able to leave straight away.
Porcelain veneers vs Emax veneers: Treatment duration
Porcelain veneers treatment duration
Porcelain veneers usually take around three weeks from the start to finish of treatment, as many dentists will want to see you multiple times to get a better look at your teeth before creating your permanent veneers. However, here at Gorgeous Smiles, we use our 3D printer and digital scanners to make this process quick and easy for you, with some porcelain veneer treatments even being carried out all in just one day!
Emax veneers treatment duration
Emax veneers will require two to three appointments with a dentist, and it all depends on how quickly your dentist can get you in as to whether this will be a quick treatment plan. Emax veneers are made using CAD and CAM technologies, making the process of making and fitting them faster than the majority of other veneer types, but it all depends on your dentist and teeth!
Porcelain veneers vs Emax veneers: Technological features
Porcelain veneers technological features
We use several technologies with our porcelain veneer treatment, including:
3D printers and digital scanners
We pride ourselves on our state-of-the-art technology, which helps us get your treatment planning underway in as little time as possible. Our digital scanner and 3D printer give us a much better view of the inside of your mouth, letting us properly tailor your new smile to your mouth to prevent any complications from arising. These also help us get you in and out as quickly as possible, so you'll be showing off your new smile in no time!
Thinner porcelain
We also use thin layers of porcelain to create your veneers, keeping your new teeth looking as natural as possible while still remaining as strong and durable as possible. The majority of porcelain alternatives for veneers use their thin design as a selling point, so we matched that advantage with our porcelain veneers so you can get the best of both worlds!
Emax veneers technological features
There are also several technological benefits to choosing Emax veneers, such as:
Minimal tooth preparation
Emax veneers are thinner and therefore don't require quite as much enamel shaving as porcelain veneers, so you can enjoy a new smile without so much tooth alteration beforehand. This preserves more of your natural tooth structure, making them less permanent than porcelain alternatives - if you want to take them off in the future, your natural teeth won't look quite so different.
Superior durability
Emax veneers are often chosen for their resilience, making them ideal for longevity and a new smile makeover. The glass-ceramic technology is a huge breakthrough in the advancement of veneers, keeping them super durable while also maintaining the delicate appearance of natural teeth.
Porcelain veneers vs Emax veneers: Cost
Porcelain veneers cost
Porcelain veneers are some of the more expensive veneers on the market, largely thanks to how long they last and the durability of the material. According to Australia's national dental fee surgery, you can expect to pay around $2,036 per porcelain veneer tooth, although you might be offered a discount or a better rate depending on how many teeth you're having replaced.
Emax veneers cost
Thanks to the materials and technologies used to create Emax veneers, you can expect the price to be slightly higher than porcelain veneers. This is also because they're more difficult to obtain, so you're looking at between $2,200 and $2,800 per tooth. Most dentists offer discounts for sets, though, so you might be able to get a set of 10 for cheaper than $22,000.
Porcelain veneers vs Emax veneers: Customer experience
Porcelain veneers treatment customer experience
Most customers love the streamlined treatment process they get when choosing Emax veneers, as well as how in-depth the initial consultation goes. They felt like their veneers looked much more natural thanks to the glass-ceramic technology, and they appreciated that their teeth didn’t need to be modified quite so much as porcelain requires.
Emax veneers treatment customer experience
The majority of customers who undergo porcelain veneer treatment are super happy with their results and how long they last for! This type of veneer can last between 10 and 20 years, so they loved that they didn’t need to replace them any time soon. They also praised the treatment length, consultation process, and natural-looking results.
Porcelain veneers vs Emax veneers: Aftercare
Porcelain veneers aftercare
The aftercare for porcelain veneers is very simple - all you need to do is make sure you brush your teeth twice a day, and floss between them once daily. You’ll also need to come back and see us for checkups and teeth cleanings every six months, and we’ll be able to tell you whether you need to do anything extra after taking a look. Other than that, simply look after them as you would your natural teeth!
Emax veneers aftercare
Emax veneers are just as strong as porcelain, so there aren’t any drastic changes to the aftercare. Make sure you brush and floss everyday and keep up to date with your dental checkups. It’s recommended that you don’t chew on anything hard with your veneers, such as your nails or pens, as this can increase the chances of them breaking.
Get a dental consultation at Gorgeous Smiles Melbourne
Both porcelain and Emax veneers are excellent options if you’re wanting to fix your smile, but there are some big differences between them that might sway your decision. Porcelain veneers might be able to last longer than Emax veneers (20 years as opposed to 15). However, Emax veneers tend to require less tooth modification. Still undecided? Why not book a consultation with us today so we can help talk through your options to get the ball rolling on your new smile today?
