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.
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.
Acknowledgement: Information above is
courtesy of Lumineers/Den-Mat Holdings LLC.
