Lumineers and veneers: what is the difference and which is better?

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Great looks are the calling card of any girl. As they say, they are greeted by their clothes. In fact, it turns out that not only for clothes, but also for a smile. And every representative of the fair sex, day by day, is in a continuous struggle for a snow-white Hollywood smile.

However, tea and coffee - the main enemies - accompany us every day and only exacerbate the situation.

What to do? Fortunately, there is such a branch of science as aesthetic dentistry.

The people involved in her activities are constantly creating new tools for us to help make our smile more beautiful - veneers, fillers, etc. One of the latest patented inventions is ceramic lumineers.

Lumineers - what is it?

Like veneers, these are the thinnest plates made of ceramics. They are attached in a certain way to the teeth. They are made to order according to an individual shape, so they will fit perfectly and look natural.

Lumineers are essentially advanced veneers. And, naturally, they have a number of distinctive features.

Let's see how they differ from veneers.

• Thickness. The veneers are 0.5 mm thick and the lumineers are 0.2 mm thick;
• Strength. The new development is designed in such a way that the formation of cracks is excluded during operation, unlike veneers;
• Creation technology. Brand new, which helps to give the onlays not only the required shape, but also a slight shade of the wearer's teeth so that they look natural and not artificial. In the technology of creating veneers, the use of shades is excluded;
• If desired, lumineers can be removed, unlike veneers;
• Life time. In the case of veneers, the installation takes 5 or 7 years, and the latest development can last about 20 years;
• Changing the natural shape of the teeth is not a mandatory requirement, but is done at will. When installing veneers, sharpening and alignment will be required.

Advantages and disadvantages

Lumineers have a number of important advantages:

1. Lack of teeth turning. The beauty of ceramic lumineers is that they can be fixed not only on teeth of any shape, but also on crowns or dentures, and you do not need to pre-align them;
2. The fixation procedure is absolutely painless, therefore, the administration of anesthetic drugs is not required;
3. The newest linings are environmentally friendly and completely harmless. In addition, they are created in such a way that they are biologically fully compatible with the body and will not cause rejection. One of the most important properties is reliable protection against caries;
4. When fixing onlays, a substance such as fluoride is used, which is very useful for natural teeth;
5. When removing the linings, no unpleasant surprises will be found - they do not affect the teeth in any way and, among other things, do not change their color;
6. Lumineers do not cause any inconvenience and are practically not felt;
7. When set, the sensitivity remains unchanged.

However, the new development, like veneers, is a dental ceramic construction and therefore has a number of inevitable disadvantages.

Let's consider them.

1. Intolerance to significant mechanical stress. This means, if you constantly want to bite off the thread while sewing, or you are a fan of often fighting, you will have to get rid of these habits or accept the fact that the plates will peel off in areas of high pressure;
2. Production time. After the first visit to the dentist, a fairly decent period of time will pass - up to one and a half months before the finished onlays arrive for installation. The fact is that there are no companies in Russia that would be engaged in their manufacture, so all measurements are sent to the head office in America and the lumineers come from there;
3. Great value. Unfortunately, at the moment, only wealthy people can afford to install ceramic lumineers, since the cost of one overlay can be up to 40,000 rubles;
4. The presence of contraindications to installation.

This is the entire list of the cons of the latest dental onlays. And, since we are talking about contraindications, then it is worth dwelling in more detail on this point.

Lumineers, like veneers, have a number of contraindications and indications for installation. The main indications are any signs of imperfection of the teeth or their enamel: these can be ordinary chips or cracks, darkened enamel, which can no longer be restored by other procedures, curvature of the teeth, etc.

The main contraindications

There are three groups of contraindications: relative, associated with other diseases and absolute.

The first group of contraindications includes those points that can indirectly affect the quality and durability of lumineers:

• Various malocclusions, which can lead to abrasion of the linings against each other;
• Bad habits that can lead to mechanical damage (cracking nuts with teeth, smoking electronic cigarettes, etc.);
• The possibility of using other methods of treatment, depending on the problem - the installation of braces, whitening, etc.;
• Periodontitis.

It is worth noting that if you want to place veneers, you will also come across this list.

In addition, there are diseases for which the installation of lumineers and veneers is not recommended. These include various eye diseases that lead to surgery, the presence of a cardiac stimulator. And there are contraindications that are absolute and not subject to different interpretations.

These include:

• Very thin natural enamel;
• Intolerance of the materials from which the linings are made, or the materials with which they are fixed;
• Significant caries lesions, which entail the restoration or replacement of teeth completely.

Manufacturing and installation

Lumineers and veneers are made only in America, so if you are offered some other manufacturer, be sure that this is a fake. The main material is one of the types of ceramics - porcelain. All manufacturing processes for each lining are automated and are carried out according to the removed dimensions. The result is the finest ceramic impression of your tooth.

Installation takes place in three stages.

• Firstly, at the first visit to the dentist, the possibility of carrying out this procedure is established. Current problems with teeth are immediately corrected, if there are any - replacement of fillings, etc. After carrying out these procedures, dental impressions are taken with the help of wax and the necessary measurements are taken for clarification. In some clinics, a computer imaging procedure is offered, on which the expected result can be seen;
• During the second visit to the dentist, a prototype made of plastic is tried on;
• The third visit is the final stage, which includes the installation of onlays and instructions on how to care for them.

Proper care is the best prevention

Taking care of lumineers and veneers is absolutely easy if you are used to taking care of your teeth.

Daily care includes brushing with toothpaste, rinsing your mouth after every meal, scheduled visits to your dentist, etc.

The only thing that is added is the exclusion of mechanical forceful actions - cracking the shell of seeds and nuts.

Summing up, it is worth noting that if you have sufficient financial resources and an imperfect smile, then Lumineers will help you fix this painlessly, without alignments and unnecessary injections and for a long time.