Lumineers : Advantages and disadvantages when compared to traditional porcelain veneers. - Part I

You've probably seen commercials on television or ads in magazines for Lumineers. From the pictures they show you know they can be used to make a dramatic change with a person's smile. But what the heck are they? What's so different about Lumineers as opposed to other types of dental work? Why all the buzz?

Well, we'd be the first to tell you that the biggest part of the "buzz" has to do with marketing. Lumineers are simply one brand of porcelain veneer (we'll explain porcelain veneers more thoroughly in just a moment) and both Den-Mat Corporation, the company that makes them, and individual dentists are trying to create a demand for this product. Not that that's a bad thing.

Lumineers do have characteristics that make them different from most other porcelain veneers. And these characteristics can make it possible that the technique used to place them is less of an ordeal than that used with traditional porcelain veneers. But these advantages come with tradeoffs. And any patient considering Lumineers needs to fully understand, in advance, what they are and how they can affect the outcome of their case.

[This hub, while encompassing two parts, is intended to be brief. A more thorough discussion can be found on the website Dental-Picture-Show.com where both Lumineers and traditional porcelain veneers are covered in greater detail. I would like to thank DMHI, Inc., the owner of Dental-Picture-Show.com for giving me permission to use their pictures for this hub.]

It seems there are exactly three things that everybody knows about Lumineers porcelain veneers. They are amazingly thin. They can be placed without the need for dental anesthetic (a "shot"). They can make a dramatic change in the appearance of a smile. And you know all of these things are true. But what you probably don't know is the specific how's and why's associated with these facts.

It only makes sense that before you can understand how Lumineers differ, you must first have an understanding about some of the properties of traditional porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers (and this includes Lumineers too) are thin shells of porcelain that a dental laboratory has crafted (using a plaster cast of the patient's mouth) so they fit over the front side of the patient's teeth. As a physical item, a porcelain veneer is a very thin and fragile object. But once it has been bonded to a tooth it becomes a very durable new covering for the tooth.

Porcelain veneers are all about cosmetics. They aren't used to strengthen a tooth. They don't significantly cover over those portions of a tooth that others can't see. They literally are just a veneering (a resurfacing) for the front side of a tooth so the tooth looks better.

When a dentist repairs a tooth (places a crown, filling, etc...) one part of their goal is to restore the tooth to its original dimensions. This is because the overall contours of a tooth are important. They influence our speech, the way our lips glide over and position themselves on our teeth, and the way we bite into things. Tooth contours also play a role in determining how easy it is to clean our teeth and keep them and the gum tissue that surrounds them healthy. Bottom line, teeth that are too bulky can be a noticeable inconvenience to a person from a standpoint of function, and worse, can be predisposed to having dental problems such as tooth decay and gum disease because it is difficult to keep them clean.

Porcelain veneers have historically been on the order of .4 to .8 mm thick. (That's about the same thickness as a credit card.) One reason for this chosen thickness is related to the optical properties that are needed so the veneer will look lifelike. You probably don't know this but a tooth's enamel layer is translucent. This means that the light that strikes your tooth actually passes into and through its enamel layer until it ultimately strikes the opaque layer of tooth dentin that lies underneath. This light is then reflected off the dentin and back through the tooth enamel to a point where it exits the tooth. This method of light handling is what gives a tooth its characteristic lustrous appearance.

In order to mimic the way tooth enamel manipulates light, a porcelain veneer must have some translucency and have some thickness. Once a porcelain veneer has been bonded into place, light will pass through it in similar fashion as with enamel. The light will then be reflected off the opaque layer of cement holding the veneer in place. The reflected light will then passes back through the porcelain veneer, thus providing the same type of lustrous appearance as a natural tooth.

A veneer thickness along the lines of .4 to .8 mm allows for lifelike light handling characteristics. However, if a porcelain veneer this thick is bonded directly onto an unprepared tooth, the tooth will be grossly over contoured. And, as you now know, this can place the tooth at risk for being a nuisance or developing problems. The obvious solution is for the dentist to use their dental drill and trim the side of the tooth that will receive the porcelain veneer by the amount that the planned veneer will be. This way the final shape of the veneered tooth will be within normal limits.

In a nutshell, Lumineers differ from traditional porcelain veneers primarily by the fact that they are thinner. The typical Lumineer will measure on the order of .2 to .3 mm. That's about one-third to half the thickness of a traditional veneer.

In theory this decreased thickness means that a dentist can bond an ultra-thin Lumineer directly to an unprepared tooth, without creating an end result that is grossly over contoured. Now it just so happens that this point is one of some debate in the dental community. But assuming that it is true, it greatly simplifies the veneering technique that is used when they are placed.

Just look at all of the steps that the dentist, and patient, can avoid if no tooth reduction is needed before veneers can be placed. Clearly there won't be any need for any drilling. Because of this there probably won't be a need for a dental anesthetic (a "shot"). This also means that there will be no time period where the patient will need to either wear temporary plastic veneers or else experience the (typically minor) inconveniences of tooth roughness, thermal sensitivity or altered cosmetic appearance while they wait for their veneers to be made.

Just how great is everything that has been mentioned so? It all seems too perfect, right? We'll it is and it isn't. Now first off, it does need to be stated that Lumineers do offer the possibility of all of the unique benefits that we have mentioned so far but not mandatorily so. Lumineers also work with traditional porcelain veneer technique. A patient's teeth can be reduced and Lumineers placed. It's just that the Lumineers will be thicker, which really is a non-issue.

But that's really not what the ads you see for Lumineers promote. The selling points of the product are that they are super thin and therefore can be placed without drilling or a shot. So let's continue in this vein, after all, why else even consider Lumineers over a cheaper conventional product? Part II of this hub outlines the specific advantages and disadvantages of having no-drill Lumineers placed.

I'd like to thank DMHI, Inc., the owner of Dental-Picture-Show.com, for allowing me to use their pictures for this hub. They have more detailed information about both traditional porcelain veneers and Lumineers, as well as many other dental topics on their website. A visit just to view the animations is worth the time.

Lumineers is a registered trademark of the DenMat Corporation.