Replacement of existing ceramic veneers is a common procedure in a restorative practice. It not only involves removing old material and replacing it with new material, but also a thorough dentofacial assessment in which we must check:

  • Color
  • Contour
  • Arrangement
  • Position

This visual essay will walk the reader through the basic steps of replacing ceramic veneers:

Facial pictures showing tooth display in repose and full smile.
Facial pictures demonstrating using retractors to assess incisal /occlusal plane orientation.
Frontal pictures in occlusion and separating the teeth to further show the incisal plane discrepancy.
Lateral views of old ceramic veneers.
Mounted casts and wax-up.
The old veneers are removed without damage to the tooth structure and the teeth are lightly re-prepared.
Retraction cord is placed before impressions are made.
Utilizing reduction guides to verify adequate tooth reduction based on the wax-up.
Frontal view of provisional restorations.
Provisional restorations in place.
Extraoral evaluation of the provisional restorations.
Feldspathic ceramic layering.
Finalized ceramic veneers on master cast.
Finalized feldspathic ceramic veneers.
Try on of the ceramic veneers.
Ceramic veneers after cementation.
Full smile with ceramic restorations.
Two-week post-bonding evaluation.
Smile assessment.
Facial integration of the definitive restorations.

A step-by-step technique for replacing old veneers utilizing a laser unit to remove pre-existing restorations allows for a fast, clean removal with minimal tooth reduction. The replacement with feldspathic veneers is a very common procedure in practice, in which a careful dentofacial assessment of the orientation of the incisal/ occlusal plane is essential to ensure optimal esthetics of the new restorations.

Ricardo Mitrani, D.D.S., M.S.D., is a member of Spear Resident Faculty.



Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Tom Z.
December 8th, 2020
Beautiful work. Do you ever recommend any sort of finishing of the margins of the veneers along the gingival margin?