Laminate veneers

To laminate means to bond thin layers of materials. Hence, the term laminate veneers, designates the type of dental restoration where thin layers of dental materials are bonded onto the surface of the teeth.

There are two categories of laminate veneers: direct and indirect.

Direct laminate veneers are those veneers which are produced chairside, in the dental office, using a light-cured composite resin which covers the entire facial surface of the teeth. The technique for direct laminate veneers offers great flexibility for shaping and shading. Direct laminate veneers are time-consuming and require high artistic skill on behalf of the cosmetic dentist. In time, the direct laminate veneers exhibit poor color stability and wear resistance.

Indirect laminate veneers are fabricated in a dental laboratory on models taken from the patient’s dentition. Indirect laminate veneers may be produced from a different type of composite resin, but most frequently they are made out of dental porcelain. The dental porcelain is composed of natural feldspar (potassium and alumino-silicate glasses), hence the name feldspathic veneers. Feldspathic veneers are produced with minimum thickness and can offer a very natural appearance while allowing minimal preparation of the tooth. Feldspathic veneers require a high level of technical and artistic skill on behalf of the dental technicians. The two main drawbacks are: stability during different types of handling; difficulty of achieving the right balance in shade and individual characterization during layering to build a total of 0.3 – 0.7 mm of thickness.

Porcelain laminate veneers with pressed ceramic (or high strength ceramic) are the research product of most recent years. These porcelain materials are stronger than the conventional feldspathic porcelain and have hardness comparable to that of tooth enamel. Examples of pressed dental porcelain are: IPS Empress ceramic (the Empress veneers), Cerinate ceramic (the Lumineers). The porcelain veneers produced from these ceramics are called pressed porcelain veneers or pressed ceramic veneers. The term pressed derives from the technological process involved in their production: the veneers are waxed to full contour then pressed and baked in a special oven.