Only when used in the proper situation

Lumineers are thin ceramic shells that are placed over teeth that have not been prepared to receive them. It is a conservative procedure in theory, however in most cases the teeth appear bulky and are what is referred to as “over-contoured.”

The ramifications of over-contoured teeth, aside from them being unaesthetic, are the fact that it is unhealthy for the gum tissues that support the teeth. I often see irritated or inflamed gum tissue around teeth that are bulky or over-contoured. This may result in gum disease which can lead to periodontal disease (destruction of the structures that support the teeth).

The good news is that if diagnosed properly and only used in the proper situation, Lumineers are a conservative approach to whitening, straightening, or simply enhancing the aesthetics of teeth.

The reality is that only a very small percentage of patients would be well served with this procedure due to its tendency to leave the teeth over contoured, bulky and quite unaesthetic.

More good news is that traditional veneers when done properly are a beautiful conservative and health way to enhance the smile.

So, no excuses to not smile, smile, smile!

There are several things that need to happen for a veneer case to be successful.

They need to have enough thickness to have strength and, contrary to popular belief, they have to be thick enough to look natural. This allows the ceramist to build in enough translucency and characteristics to mimic the optical qualities of a naural tooth.

Also, the lumineers have a tendency to create a ledge at the gumline since the tooth underneath is not prepared enough. This can cause an unhealthy gum situation, which can lead to chronic inflammation and possibly bone loss.

The lumineers are not of enough thickness to allow for proper translucency and tend to look too opaque or have show-through of a dark tooth underneath.

There are also no long term studies on how fragile they are. If they break easily this can cause trauma to the tooth underneath.

With proper technique, traditional porcelain veneers are not painful and give a great long term result.

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The idea of doing no prep veneers (not removing enamel) is the only good thing about Lumineers and even that has limited applications. Even if you look at the professional brochures put out by the Lumineer manufacturers the untrained eye can see that they are bulkier than the natural teeth.

However, my biggest complaint is that the quality of the porcelain is poor. It doesn't have the life like quality of other feldspathic porcelains. Even if a patient insists on a no prep veneer I recommend using a better porcelain than a Lumineer.