How Close Should Temporary Veneers Look Like the Permament Ones?

The temporary veneers I make are highly aesthetic.  They are made from a wax-up on models of your teeth -- I call this wax-up my architectural blueprint or model, and it is supposed to lead us to the final smile design.  After a week wearing the temps, you and I would meet back up so we can discuss how you like the temps (color, shape of the teeth/smile, etc) -- and we can make modifications to the temps if needed -- until you like them.  Ideally I like to get your temps to a place where you REALLY like them -- and then I will design the porcelain based on these temps that you like.  Doing it this way reduces the guess-work and helps me to ensure my patients are getting just what they want for their new smile.  It's a big investment -- I need to be sure my patients get the results they want.

Thanks for your question. Porcelain veneers start with a planning phase where we take impressions and photographs and we get a mockup from the lab where we can create a trial smile. You can actually see in our mouth what your smile with veneers would look like. Then after your teeth are prepared you wear temporaries for a few weeks and come in for your final restorations to be cemented permanently. These temporaries are an integral part of the smile design process. Your final restorations should look extremely close to what the temporaries look like. We often take impressions and photographs of the temporaries for the lab to use as a guideline. The temporaries are a great opportunity for you as a the patient to let your dentist know what you do and don't like about the aesthetics of your new smile and see how you feel when you function (chew and speak). Good luck! 

The temporary veneers are an essential part of the design process for the permanent veneers. These are often made from an initial design prepared from a diagnostic wax up prior to the process beginning. The shaping and refining of the temporary veneers gives the patient and the dentist a better idea of the look, and feel, of the new restorations and modifications can be more easily made to the temporary veneers that can be translated into the permanent veneers by the dental ceramist.