What are Dental Veneers
Dental veneers are certainly gaining popularity in Italy, riding the wave of what has been happening in many countries around the world for several years. Attention to dental aesthetics and therefore the beauty of the smile has now become paramount.
“Dental veneers“, “ceramic dental veneers“, “aesthetic dental veneers” are among the keywords most typed into search engines.
But the problem lies in navigating the endless choices. Today, there are options that we could define as industrial because they are based on a pre-constructed base and then adapted to each individual tooth. Options that involve the use of CAD-CAM technology and milling machines that sculpt the dental veneer, and finally, much more refined and accurate options that involve handcrafted construction. This is the option I use and prefer: it allows not only to individualize dental veneers to each tooth but also to achieve the utmost naturalness.
At this point, it is clear that choosing one solution over another is just as important as choosing the right dentist.
What makes the real difference in achieving a beautiful, natural smile perfectly integrated with the face with dental veneers?
1) Smile planning is important. The “digital smile plan” is, in fact, a digital planning that allows planning a smile exactly as an architect would, working on parameters concerning dimensions, shapes, and above all integration with the face.
2) The previsualization of the smile. That is, the possibility of creating a “mock-up” (a replica) directly in the patient’s mouth to realize what the final result will be.
3) The possible integration with orthodontic therapy is often a mandatory choice before using veneers, as sometimes the teeth are excessively “misaligned.”
4) The use of techniques that allow for minimal invasiveness towards the tooth. It’s a common thought that teeth always need to be filed down to accommodate ceramic veneers. On the contrary, there are numerous situations where teeth are not touched at all or only roughened.
5) The use of techniques that allow working at high magnification to evaluate and respect the details of the tooth and the gum.
6) The entirely handcrafted and personalized construction of the dental veneer, choosing a specialized craftsman, the dental technician, instead of a mechanical or industrial construction.
7) Timing. Building a smile takes time. Rarely can a case be finalized in just two sessions as often advertised. Just like in a high fashion atelier a dress is constructed after the development of a project and making the necessary trials before delivery, so too a smile must be given the right space for planning, pre-visualization, and sessions for trials of color, shape, and dimensions of the teeth themselves.
8) One final consideration in choosing the dentist and type of veneer; the mouth also consists of posterior teeth, which must fit together correctly, so building a beautiful but also healthy smile must certainly include good function.
Let’s explain what is meant by personalizing a smile with dental veneers
There are several aspects to evaluate in creating a harmonious and pleasant smile that is also aesthetically impactful. Some are related to the teeth, others to the gums, and others to the shape of the face and even the shape and position of the lips.
Leaving aside in this article the very important parameter of the gums and lips, we can instead evaluate which other parameters we can use to make a new smile truly unique:
- Tooth Color
- Tooth Shape
- Face Shape
The Color
The color is a personal choice parameter that the patient can opt for based on color scales as if looking at a fabric swatch; but be careful, the color will be much more natural if we choose hand-crafted ceramic veneers not CAD-CAM or industrially manufactured.
The shape of the teeth
The appearance of the teeth and the shape of the face are two parameters that, although seeming distinct, are actually closely related.
The facial profile
Dr. Pier Carlo Frabboni adopts a particular approach through the knowledge of so-called “Visagism”. This is a process that determines the creation of a personal image that in turn expresses a person’s sense of identity. To apply this concept, the method derived from the association of the principles of artistic visual language is used, together with knowledge from the fields of psychology, neurobiology, anthropology, and sociology.
With this approach, it is possible to determine which emotions and personality traits patients would like to express through their appearance and therefore in this specific case through their smile. The teeth may appear in different shapes depending on the type of character and temperament one possesses or wants to convey; for example: choleric and strong temperament = rectangular tooth; melancholic and shy temperament = oval tooth; sanguine and dynamic temperament = triangular tooth; phlegmatic and peaceful temperament = square tooth.
The teeth must be contextualized to the shape of the face, which varies from individual to individual and geometrically follows the lines just described for the dental shape, therefore: rectangular, square, oval, triangular, heart-shaped, etc. etc. By putting together all these parameters concerning the different anatomical and emotional characteristics of the patient, a clinical formula is obtained that will lead to a wonderful smile strongly integrated into the patient’s face.
In conclusion: The smile is our signature.
It projects our thoughts outward, is our business card, and greatly influences our self-esteem and thus personal and professional success. Planning a beautiful smile requires a certain competence and experience not so common. The choice of handcrafted and individualized ceramic dental veneers as a tool to achieve the best result is undoubtedly a safe, elegant, and sophisticated solution.
Visit the section dedicated to dental veneers among the treatments on the website.
