Lumineers ® porcelain veneers: Cerinate ® Lumineers ®
| ⇓ Here's a brief overview of our topic - Lumineers ® Porcelain Veneers! Lumineers ® veneers - When dentists place porcelain veneers for their patients they have a few options as to the precise type of veneer they use. One option available to dentists is Lumineers ® veneers. Lumineers ® is a brand of porcelain veneer that is made using Cerinate ® porcelain. Cerinate ® is exceptionally strong and this characteristic allows Lumineers ® to be made to very thin tolerances. Den-Mat Corporation, the maker of Lumineers ®, states that these veneers can be made to be as thin as a contact lense. Dentists can place Lumineers ® veneers using traditional porcelain veneer technique but because they can be so thin another option exists. Den-Mat Corporation promotes the placement of Lumineers ® veneers using protocol where no tooth drilling and no dental anesthetic ("shot") are needed. Our discussion will explain some of the initial conditions that tend to lend themselves to the placement of Lumineers ® veneers using a "no drilling, no shots" technique. We'll also provide an example showing when a dentist might decide that using Lumineers ® veneers with this technique would be a poor choice. And finally, our pages discuss the cost of Lumineers ® veneers, how long Lumineers ® veneers can last, and how Lumineers ® veneers can be used to restore the cosmetic appearance of aged dental crown and bridgework. Lumineers and Cerinate are registered trademarks of the Den-Mat Corporation. |
What are Lumineers ® porcelain veneers?
Lumineers ® porcelain veneers are a type of veneer made out of the patented porcelain Cerinate ®. Cerinate ® is an exceptionally strong type of porcelain and this property allows Lumineers ® veneers to be fabricated to extremely thin tolerances.
The thickness of Lumineers ® veneers can be as little as .2 to .3 millimeters (along the same lines as a contact lense). In comparison traditional porcelain veneers typically require a minimal thickness of around .5mm. The process by which Lumineers ® veneers are made is proprietary and only available to a dentist through the Cerinate ® Smile Design Studios owned by the Den-Mat Corporation.
What's different about Lumineers ® veneers in comparison to other types of porcelain veneers?
The typical selling points you see associated with Lumineers ® veneers are derived from the fact that they can be so thin. The manufacture claims that because Lumineers ® veneers are ultra-thin they can be placed using a technique where no tooth reduction ("no drilling") is need. In those cases where no drilling is required typically dental anesthetic will not be needed either ("no shots").
How is it that Lumineers ® porcelain veneers can be placed using a "no drilling, no shots" technique?
When Lumineers ® porcelain veneers are placed using a "no drilling, no shots" technique these veneers do in fact offer an alternative to traditional porcelain veneer methodology.
With traditional porcelain veneering technique a dentist will first reduce a tooth (grind away some of the tooth's surface) approximately the same thickness as the porcelain veneer they plan to place will be. The idea is that, in general, each tooth has an ideal contour and thickness. Since a dentist does not want to create an end result where a veneered tooth has become oversized or bulky, they will trim the tooth back the same amount as the thickness of the porcelain veneer being placed.
In most cases this tooth trimming means that a dental anesthetic will be required so the dental patient remains comfortable while the tooth reduction process is performed.
In theory, since a Lumineer ® veneer is so very thin a dentist doesn't need to trim back a tooth's surface because when the veneer is bonded into placed its presence will not add enough bulk to the tooth to pose a problem. Since no drilling is needed, no anesthetic ("shot") is required either. "No drilling" Lumineers ® technique also offers the added convenience that no temporary dental veneers will need to be placed.
How much truth is there to the Lumineers ® claim that no drilling or shots will be required?
Hypothetically it's conceivable that Lumineers ® porcelain veneers could be placed using a "no drilling, no shots" technique in essentially all veneering cases. But just because doing so might be physically possible does not mean that using this technique indiscriminately and universally would be in the best interest of the dental patients involved, and in fact it would not. Placing Lumineers ® using a "no drilling" technique can only create an acceptable clinical and cosmetic end result if the proper conditions exist initially.
To your dentist Lumineers ® is simply a brand of porcelain veneer, not a veneering technique.
By way of their advertising Lumineers ® porcelain veneers (a product) are typically married to "no drilling, no shots" technique (a method) but this does not have to be the case. Lumineers ® veneers are simply one type of porcelain veneer. Lumineers ® veneers are special because they can be manufactured to very thin tolerances (although this is not the only type of minimal thickness porcelain veneer available to your dentist). And this extreme degree of thinness does allow the dentist placing the Lumineers ® veneers the option of placing them using a "no drilling, no shots" veneering technique, but Lumineers ® veneers can always be placed using traditional porcelain veneering technique if the situation requires it.
