If you’ve decided to get dental veneers, you’ll want veneers that look natural. Sometimes, you’ll draw the short straw and get veneers that look a little too white or a little too ‘off-model’, so to speak. Our dental veneers at Everton Park Dental Clinic are the closest things to natural veneers you’re going to get. Here are the key characteristics of natural-looking veneers.
Their Colour
Contrary to conventional wisdom, your pearly whites shouldn’t be pearly white. Unless you’ve come fresh from a teeth-whitening sesh, your teeth are going to be tinted off-white or maybe even slightly beige. When selecting your veneers, you want to ensure that you’re selecting something that blends into your smile and face rather than stands out. Porcelain models, when done poorly, will not be natural-looking veneers. They’re made from the material of a conventional toilet and this may be a little too obvious.
Having said that, porcelain veneers look great when done well. The look will ultimately come down to the handiwork of the ceramist at hand. At Everton Park Dental Clinic, we have over 20 years of experience in cosmetic dentistry. You can trust us to incorporate into your porcelain veneers the layers of shade and translucency that mimic the surface of a natural tooth. We also have composite resin veneers, which are not a striking white, but do lack the translucency and light-catching surface of porcelain.
Another factor you’ll want to consider when choosing colour is which shade will fit your face best. When we say fit, we mean blend in seamlessly. You should take your skin tone into account, but the most important factor is your sclera (aka the white of the eye). They key to natural-looking veneers is to match them to your eyes—leaving the irises out of it.
Their shape and size
Did you know that the size and shape of your teeth correspond with your physique? Compare the teeth of a petite young woman to those of a man over six-foot tall. Do veneers look natural? Yes, so long as they’re tailored to your unique look. What’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander.
Tooth shapes and sizes embody differing characteristics. For example, round veneers look soft whilst square veneers look more assertive. There are shapes that look younger or older, or more masculine or feminine. Sizes carry less meaning—in which case you may want veneers that cover teeth appearing to be ‘too long’ or ‘too short’. Veneers that look natural will be the right size and shape for your face, sometimes correcting not-so-natural obscurities.
The other thing to consider in terms of shape is ‘smile matching’. Veneers that look natural will match the curve of your lower lip when you’re smiling. If the veneers are a ‘reverse shape’ that does not mesh with your overall smile, your face may be projecting a sharp juxtaposition of smiling lips and ‘frowning’ teeth. Perhaps this aspect of your face is the most important to consider when selecting your veneer shape.
Their alignment
You can have the most natural-looking veneers on the block, but they’re not going to look natural if they’re misaligned. There isn’t a lot to unpack here—your dentist should arrange your veneers in such a way that mimics a natural, healthy alignment. This means you’ll want a straight row of pearly whites (or translucent off-whites, as the case may be) that feel neat and look great in photos. Some people use braces or clear aligners to fix a crooked smile, but veneers allow us to mould a smile from scratch.
If you want to re-work your smile, our dentist at Everton Park can set your smile straight with either porcelain or composite veneers. If this sounds good to you, call Everton Park Dental Clinic on (07) 3355 7936 or book an appointment online. We can’t wait to give you the best, most natural-looking dental veneers Everton Park has ever seen.