With the increasing emphasis on aesthetics in today's world, people undergo various aesthetic procedures to achieve a more beautiful appearance, whether it's surgical operations related to the face or the body. However, one aspect that many people may not be aware of but is worth discussing is the role and impact of having beautiful teeth and a smile in enhancing one's beauty.

What Are Laminate Veneers?

Laminate veneers are thin porcelain sheets that are applied to the front surface of teeth with minimal or sometimes no preparation. These thin porcelain veneers help improve aesthetic irregularities in teeth related to color, shape, and anomalies. The whiteness achieved with laminate veneers is permanent; factors like smoking, tea, and coffee that cause discoloration in natural teeth do not affect laminate veneers.

The thickness of these thin porcelain veneers ranges from 0.2 mm to 0.7 mm, depending on the case. Among the various dental coating methods used in dentistry, these are the thinnest and most aesthetic applications. The bonding systems for laminate veneers are chemically different from other bonding methods used for coatings, and they are applied using laser technology.

In the process, when patients first visit our clinic, we take full-face and intraoral photographs. If necessary, after minimal preparation of the front surfaces of the teeth where the laminates will be placed and taking measurements, we try to achieve a smile that suits the patient's face, using anatomical points from the facial photographs as a reference. Of course, we can make changes according to the patient's desires. After a one-week period, in the second session, we show the patient the teeth that have been created in the mouth, obtain their approval, and proceed with the bonding process. During this process, if the patient has any requests, we can make adjustments to the teeth.

After the bonding of laminate veneers, I always provide information on how to perform proper oral care, customized to each patient. Because regardless of the dental procedure performed, the lifespan of the work is also dependent on post-procedure care. In short, I can say that dental care is 50% about your dentist's precision and 50% about the patient's oral care. There are no extra oral care procedures for maintaining laminate veneers. Brushing in a circular motion for at least 2 minutes (covering all surfaces of the teeth) twice a day and using dental floss every night before bed will be sufficient.

Furthermore, many people today fear that their teeth will be irreversibly damaged due to cutting and abrasion. In such cases, Non-Prep veneers, which are applied to the patient's own teeth without any cutting or abrasion, can be considered. To be able to apply Non-Prep veneers, the structure and shape of the teeth must be suitable.