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Before and After Photos are favorites for people discovering what is possible. This patient presented with a history of her friends making fun of her and telling her that “she looks British.” This jabbing hurt her feelings and she asked if there was anything we could do about it.
Patients who have an open diastema, which is the technical name for the space between the teeth, have 2 primary options when closing the space.
- A minimal (or) no prep veneer, such as a Lumineer.
- Same day in-office treatment with a white resin composite.
A porcelain veneer has a very beautiful finish and a very high shine. Porcelain veneers tend to last 10 to 15 to even 20 years. They stay very shiny. Usually they have esthetic failures at the gumline, due to recession and/or staining at the margin. It is realistic to assume that you will replace a set of veneers every 10 to 20 years.
Same day resin composites to close diastema can be applied in the office using a bright composite applied directly to the teeth after etching and bonding. This procedure is sometimes called composite veneers, bonding, or resin veneers. The advantage of this procedure is that it is less expensive because there is no lab fee. Also, it can be applied right away with no waiting for porcelain to be made ready.
This patient left with same day resin composites and was thrilled because she hopes to longer hear the jabs from her friends about her teeth.