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Cosmetic dentistry · Made to measure
Veneers are thin facings bonded to the front of teeth to change their colour, shape or alignment. At Sardinia House in Holborn we offer composite veneers, sculpted by hand in a single visit, and porcelain veneers designed digitally and made here or by a master ceramist over two visits. Composite from £495 per tooth; porcelain from £1,250 per tooth. You see the design on screen first.
Guide fee
Composite from £495 · porcelain from £1,250 per tooth
Visits
One for composite; two for porcelain
Made
On site or by a master ceramist, from a digital design
With
All our dentists
Who it is for
Some staining sits inside the tooth, from old root treatment, childhood medication or enamel that formed unevenly, and bleaching does little for it. A veneer covers the colour with a shade chosen against your other teeth.
Edges that have chipped or worn away shorten the whole smile. A veneer rebuilds the length and the outline, and because it is bonded, it also protects the thinned enamel beneath from wearing any further.
Where teeth are a little out of line and you would rather not wear aligners, veneers can even out the appearance. For larger movements we usually suggest Invisalign® first, so that less tooth needs to be reduced.
Composite can pick up stain over the years, and earlier veneers may no longer match whitened neighbours. Replacing them is planned in the same way as new work, with the design shown to you first.
The difference
Composite is added directly to the tooth and shaped by hand, with little or no drilling, and is easy to repair. Porcelain is milled here or made by a ceramist, holds its colour and polish for longer and suits larger changes. We explain which fits your case.
Your iTero™ scan and photographs feed a digital design. For porcelain cases a trial smile is placed over your teeth so you can see length and shape in your own mouth before any enamel is removed.
Some porcelain veneers are milled and glazed on site. Where the case calls for layered porcelain, we work with master ceramists in the UK and abroad, and provisional veneers are printed or milled here the same day, so that, wherever we can, you do not leave with an unfinished smile.
Guided by the design, we remove only the enamel the veneer needs, often very little, working with magnification. More of your own tooth kept means a stronger bond and a veneer that can be expected to last longer.
The process
We discuss what you would like to change, check the health of the teeth and gums, take photographs and scan your teeth. If whitening or alignment should come first, we say so now.
The proposed veneers are designed on screen. For porcelain, a trial smile is made from the design and placed over your teeth, so the shape can be adjusted while it is still temporary.
With the design as a guide, the teeth are prepared conservatively under local anaesthetic and scanned again. Provisional veneers made on site protect them while the ceramist works. Composite veneers skip this stage and are finished the same day.
The veneers are tried in, checked for shade and fit, and bonded one at a time. The bite is adjusted, the margins polished and photographs taken to compare with the design.
Afterwards
Veneers are brushed and flossed like your own teeth, and hygiene visits keep the margins clean. Avoid using front teeth to open packets or bite nails, and tell us if you grind, as a night guard protects the porcelain. Composite veneers benefit from a polish at check-ups; porcelain needs only the same care as the teeth around it.
Guide fees
Guide fees. Nothing is started until your plan, with every fee written down, is in your hands. See all fees
Good to know
Per tooth: composite veneers from £495, porcelain from £1,250, and our most refined porcelain from £1,450. The exact fee depends on how many teeth are involved and is set out in a written plan before treatment starts.
Composite veneers usually need no anaesthetic at all. Teeth are shaped for porcelain once they are numb, so you notice pressure but not pain; expect a little cold sensitivity for a few days.
Looked after well, porcelain lasts many years; composite usually needs polishing up or replacing sooner. How long depends on your bite, habits such as grinding, and how well the teeth are looked after.
Composite veneers involve little or no removal of enamel. Porcelain veneers need a thin layer removed so they sit flush, and designing them first keeps that to the minimum. Once a tooth has been prepared for porcelain it will always need a veneer.
Often fewer than people expect. Sometimes a single veneer corrects one tooth that stands out; sometimes six to eight across the smile give an even result. The design shows you the difference, and whitening the rest can reduce the number.
Whitening gel has no effect on a veneer, so the order is whitening first, then veneers made to the lighter shade. Whitening later brightens your natural teeth but leaves the veneers as they are.
Bonding is composite applied to part of a tooth, usually an edge or a corner. A composite veneer covers the whole front surface. Porcelain veneers are made from a scan, here or by a ceramist. Which suits you depends on how much is changing.
The tooth under a veneer stays alive and is otherwise unchanged. A thin layer of enamel, usually a fraction of a millimetre, is removed so the veneer sits flush, and the veneer is then bonded to the prepared surface. Once enamel is taken away it does not return, so that tooth will always need a veneer or something like it. That is why every case is designed on screen before a tooth is touched.
Well-made veneers are hard to spot, because they are designed to match the shape, translucency and surface texture of your own teeth rather than to look uniformly white. The scan, photographs and a trial smile let you see the design before anything is made, and the porcelain is finished by a ceramist so that it reflects light like enamel.
Questions first?
Not ready to book a consultation yet? Tell us what you would like to know, whether that is how long it takes, what it costs or whether it would suit you, and one of our treatment coordinators will reply. We aim to answer within one working day.
Please keep medical details for your visit, where we can talk them through properly. How we look after your information is explained in our privacy notice.
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