Instant orthodontics:

Both patients were females in their mid 20s. They had not wanted fixed braces as teenagers and now wanted straight teeth. The problem being that they still did not want braces.

Both patients had overlapping incisors and prominent canines.

We agreed that we could place 6 upper veneers with some moderate preparations.

Upper case was shade B1
Lower case was shade A1; gum lines could not be altered.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Fortress porcelain veneers
Lab Keith Rowe Ltd.

This lady was in her 20s. She had been a keen horse rider but had once fallen down and knocked her front tooth.

The tooth had broken, and had been repaired, but this had worn down over time, leaving a shorter UR1.
This tooth had also suffered nerve death and the inside having darkened severely had discoloured the outer enamel.

She really needed orthodontics but was getting married later in the year. Her upper front 4 teeth were sticking out. Both her upper canines were hidden and the front 4 teeth protrusion was quite substantial.

We agreed on 6 upper porcelain veneers with some deep preparation where required. The front 4 incisors were shortened and straightened. The canines were brought out with minimal preparation.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile and to compliment her lower teeth.
The UR1 veneer still had some darkness underneath it, but the patient did not show it on smiling.

Some dentists would have used a more opaque porcelain but then all the other 5 teeth would look very opaque and lifeless.

Patient was very happy

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Fortress porcelain veneers
Lab Keith Rowe Ltd.

This lady was in her mid 50s. She had 6 upper porcelain crowns placed at different times and she was not happy with her tired smile.

The crowns were very opaque and were made of metal covered in porcelain and were also bulky due to the extra thickness of metal.
They also appeared slightly yellow and again that was due to the metal opaquer layer.

Her upper smile line was also uneven, slanting downwards on her left hand side.
In order to correct the cant we had to shorten the left teeth and lengthen the right side.

I asked her to visit my technician so that they could get a porcelain shade to match the lower teeth.

We agreed to remove the 6 upper crowns, to reduce the bulkiness and replace with metal free porcelain crowns.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile and to compliment her age.

Treatment time was 3 weeks including the initial consultation.
Fortress porcelain crowns
Lab Keith Rowe Ltd.

This gentleman was in his mid 20s and he complained that his teeth were very long and the fillings by the gum margins kept discolouring.
He did drink a lot of coca cola as well. The combination of the acidic drink and possible over brushing to improve the staining can cause further gum shrinkage and thus the teeth would look longer.

The fillings were made of composite filling and being thin they tend to absorb stains. The UR1 and UL1 central incisors were 2-3 mm longer than the lateral incisors. The ideal length is usually 0.5mm-1mm only.

The lower teeth also had stains and white patches. We agreed to clean up the teeth and to whiten them only.

I advised that I could place 6 porcelain veneers with shorter lengths where necessary.

Another way to shorten their appearance was to place pink porcelain at the gum margin of the veneers.

I sent the patient to my local technician to look at the white and gum shades.

We agreed and booked an appointment. With the teeth prepared and impressions taken I applied a plastic temporary stent of his original teeth shapes for a week.

6 porcelain veneers were placed with even incisal edges but with slight uneven gum pink margins. Can you spot the pink porcelain?

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile and to compliment his lower teeth.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Fortress porcelain veneers
Lab Keith Rowe Ltd.

This gentleman was in his late 40s and he was a school principal. He hated his smile as the teeth were “all over the place”.

Due to his job he did not want to walk around with fixed braces even if they were white or made of porcelain. He wanted a quick fix.

The teeth were discoloured and with some failing fillings. The UR3 was rotated, UR2 hidden behind the adjacent teeth, UR1 was sticking out with an uneven edge, UL1 was also sticking out but with a shorter worn down edge, UL2 was hidden and had drifted down and appeared long, finally the UL3 was shorter and with a chipped edge.

I advised 6 porcelain veneers to straighten up the teeth, to level the edges and even to shorten the UR1 and UL2.

We agreed and booked an appointment. With the teeth prepared and impressions taken I applied a plastic temporary stent of his original teeth shapes for a week.

6 porcelain veneers were placed with even incisal edges but with slight uneven gum margins. To have even gum margins the patient would have had orthodontic treatment or gum surgery; both being unnecessary in this case.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile and to compliment his age.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Chameleon porcelain veneers
Lab Castle Ceramics

This gentleman was in his early 30s and complained of his midline gap and discoloured teeth. He had very little confidence, could not find a partner and could not hold down a job.

I did not think a smile makeover would make him successful but at least the tooth problem could be sorted.

He did not want orthodontics and or whitening as he knew that the colour of the UR1 and UL1 was very dark.
The UR3 had a discoloured filling and there were some colour inconsistencies on the other teeth.

I advised that if we just veneer the 2 front teeth then they would look very wide and would look lighter that the adjacent teeth. I advised 6 upper porcelain veneers to share out the space problem and he agreed.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Chameleon porcelain veneers
Lab Castle Ceramics

This lady was in her early 20s and she had come for a consultation after having treatment elsewhere.
She had had 8 upper porcelain veneers on the NHS.

She noticed that the veneers were very bulky and asked for a solution.
The dentist started trimming back the porcelain. This caused microfractures and also the veneers lost their shiny glaze.

We agreed to remove the veneers and replace them privately.

The new veneers were thinner and incisal edges that placed emphasis on the central 2 incisors.

The new veneers also had surface topography to match natural teeth.

We chose a B1 shade to lighten the smile.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Chameleon porcelain veneers
Lab Castle Ceramics

This lady came in for a consultation about tooth whitening. I noticed that she had 2 upper central porcelain veneers and discussed with her the very large proportions.

It was evident that the UR1 and UL1 had been veneered to close a midline gap, but the veneers were very wide and too long.

I advised that to restore the proportions and close the midline gap would require 6 veneers so that we can share out the gap anomaly.

The UR3 was pointing inwards, the UR2 was slightly rotated, the UR1 had an edge that slanted downwards. The UL1 had the opposite problem. The UL3 was slightly bulky.

We agreed and started treatment. The 2 veneers were removed and the other teeth prepared for veneers. The space problem was shared across the 6 veneers.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile. The proportions having been restored.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Chameleon porcelain veneers
Lab Castle Ceramics

This young gentleman was the son of one of our lady patients (who had had a veneer smile makeover).

He wanted veneers to straighten his teeth as opposed to orthodontics. At that time the only option was fixed braces or veneers. He also did not have a year for orthodontics as he was moving to the US for work.

His UR3 was rotated, UR2 was hidden behind the UR1, which was rotated. The UL1 was in a good position, UL2 slightly protruding and the UL3 again was slightly rotated.

It is never a good idea to restore one side with porcelain because in photos the porcelain reflects more light, looks lighter and the other teeth tend to darken over time.

In the ideal smile the canine lengths match the central incisors and the lateral incisors are slightly shorter.

We agreed 6 porcelain veneers and he was very happy with the results.

We chose an A1 shade to lighten the smile.

Treatment time was 2 weeks including the initial consultation.
Chameleon porcelain veneers
Lab Castle Ceramics