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Porcelain dental veneers are attached over the front of your teeth to enhance your smile and appearance. With proper care, they are durable and can last up to 10 – 30 years. However, over time, these may be damaged or discoloured and require removal or replacement. Some patients may also choose to replace or remove veneers for personal preferences.
Traditionally, it requires the use of a drill to remove veneers, which has scared many patients off. Here’s the good news — once can now remove veneers or crowns in a hassle free way with a new hard tissue laser that does the job safely without damaging your natural teeth. Let us explain more.
Why do I need to replace/ remove veneers?
Usually, there would be no need to remove veneers if they are of good quality and properly fitted to your teeth. However, you may need to remove or replace them in the following circumstances:
a) Cracks Or Damages To The Veneer
While dental porcelain ones are highly durable, they can be vulnerable to damage, especially if you chew on hard foods or apply excessive force to them. If cracked or broken, it has to be replaced to protect the underlying tooth.
b) Decay Or Damage To The Underlying Tooth
They only cover the front side of the teeth, which means the exposed areas of the underlying teeth are still prone to damage or decay. In the case that the underlying tooth is damaged or decayed, you will need to remove the veneer that covers it so that it can be repaired.
c) Loosening Of The Veneer
The dental cement that holds the veneer in place may deteriorate over time, which causes loosening of the veneer. When a veneer is loose, the gap may cause bacteria or plaque to accumulate behind the veneer. Hence, your dentist will have to remove the veneer to prevent damage or decay to the underlying tooth.
d) Dental Stains
Porcelain ones are resistant to stains, but the surrounding natural teeth may become discoloured such that there is a distinct difference between the natural tooth and the tooth with the veneer. These cannot be whitened, and whitening the natural tooth may result in greater distinction. Hence, the best option is to replace the veneer.
e) Poor Fitting Veneers
Poor fitting final ones can result in the gums constantly swollen or bleeding upon touching. This is may be due to a gap between the veneer and your tooth that can harbour bacteria causing your gums to be inflamed.
f) Personal Preference/improvement
Some patients may like to remove veneers as they simply dislike the current ones. Our dentists at Dental Designs clinic can get you through the process to remove veneers or replace them with the new ones.
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How do I remove/replace my dental veneer?
They typically have to be replaced about 10 – 30 years after they were put in place. The traditional process to replace or remove veneers starts with grinding away and refining the tooth surface. Then, a mould of the teeth is taken to create new ones and these are rebonded back onto your teeth.
The most common method to remove veneers is using a high-speed handpiece with a diamond. However, this method usually damages the underlying tooth and can be difficult or time-consuming to carry out.
Recently, laser technology has been used to safely remove veneers made of porcelain. Studies have shown that this laser technology will not damage the underlying tooth because the energies used for debonding are up to 20 times less than what is needed to ablate natural tooth enamel and dentin. The laser penetrates the veneer surface and deactivates the cement. This new laser technology at Dental Designs allows to remove veneers at ease, rather than having to drill it off.
Fortunately, advancements in dental technology have introduced a drill-free method to remove veneers, known as "snap-on" or "pop-on". These are removable and offer a non-invasive alternative, allowing for easy attachment and removal without the need for drilling or altering the natural tooth structure.
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How is this veneer laser removal procedure carried out?
A high powered, low frequency laser is activated in a contactless manner. The laser energy penetrates the veneer material and deactivates the bonding interface between the tooth and the veneer. A wave-like motion is done repeatedly until the veneer detaches from the tooth surface. In some circumstances, the veneer may be “locked in” which may require a drill to separate the veneer into small pieces for removal.
In most cases, the an erbium laser is used to remove veneers where they either simply pop out or crack so we can remove the pieces easily. Occasionally they may disintegrate but under no circumstances will the tooth underneath be damaged.
To illustrate better, we have recorded a video filmed in real time at x4 speed (posted above).
Do you have any questions regarding Dental Veneers for us? Please feel free to ask away and our dentists are more than happy to assist you.
WhatsApp us at : +65 8200 9092
References
- Spitz, S. D. (2008). Lasers in prosthodontics: clinical realities of a dental laser in a prosthodontic practice. Alpha Omegan, 4(101), 188-194.
- van As, G. A. (2013). Using the Erbium Laser to Remove Porcelain Veneers in 60 Seconds. Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry, 28(4).