Are Veneers Painful?

Are Veneers Painful?

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What are veneers?

Dental veneer is a thin layer of porcelain made to fit over the front surface of a tooth, like a false fingernail fits over a nail to re-create the natural look of teeth, while also providing strength and resilience comparable to enamel. Occasionally a natural-colour ‘composite’ material is used instead of porcelain. They can be used to fix stained, chipped, worn down, misaligned, uneven or abnormally spaced teeth.

Are veneers painful?

It’s not exactly a pain-free process, which is why before the treatment begins, you’ll be numbed with a localized anaesthesia should you want to. Depending on how many veneers you’re getting, you could be in the chair for a few hours (for example, 10 teeth could take about three hours). You might also get bonding sensitivity, which is a reaction between your teeth and the bonding cement. The pain it comes with can last six hours after the anaesthesia wears off, followed by a dull pain that comes in waves. Over the counter painkillers will help you ease off the pain. A few days after the treatment, there is usually a period of adjustment where your bite could feel a little off and you feel tingles of pain. If either occurs, see your dentist so they can make slight changes to your teeth and clear away any excess microscopic pieces of cement stuck between your teeth (this usually is the culprit for the pain).

Placing Veneers

The typical process takes one to two appointments. If the veneer is prefabricated it usually takes one appointment, however if the laboratory is creating the veneer it takes two appointments. We will focus here on describing the placement of the porcelain veneers that are created in a laboratory:

1. Local anaesthesia is not always required when placing veneers. However, depending on the patient’s sensitivity and how many teeth you are getting done, it can be used if needed. The dentist will clean the tooth and choose the correct shade for the veneer. The dentist will remove a small amount of the enamel to provide room to place the veneer on the tooth.
2. An impression of the tooth will be made for the laboratory and a temporary veneer will be placed on the tooth with spot etching in the centre of the tooth away from the margins.
3. Once the dental lab has delivered the porcelain veneers to the cosmetic dentist, the temporary veneer is then removed and the tooth cleaned with water and pumice. The veneer is then etched, rinsed thoroughly with water and air dried. The adhesive is placed on the preparation and then the cement and the veneer are placed for exact fit and contour.

4. The porcelain veneer is cured with light for approximately 60 seconds on all its surfaces in order to attach it to the structure of the tooth.

5. Your cosmetic dentist will then remove excess material that remains and polish the margins of the porcelain veneer.

Our team have provided more information on veneers on our veneers homepage.