Veneers with minimal preparation: when it is possible
The short answer: sometimes removing 0.3–0.5 mm of enamel is enough, and occasionally almost nothing. What decides it is not your wish but the starting position of the teeth. If they stand straight and are not pushed forward, the room for ceramic is already there. If they protrude or have darkened considerably, more has to come off — otherwise the veneer ends up thick and it shows.
When preparation stays minimal
The teeth stand straight
No marked crowding, no teeth pushed forward. The room for ceramic is there from the start — a thin layer is removed so the veneer sits flush instead of on top of the tooth.
The task is shape, not colour
Lengthening worn edges, closing a gap, evening out the smile line. Such tasks are solved with thin ceramic and no deep preparation.
Your own shade is not too dark
The darker the natural tooth, the thicker the ceramic needed to cover it. With a moderate shade a thin veneer is enough.
The enamel is intact
A veneer holds on enamel, not on dentine. If the enamel is there and not thinned, the bond is more reliable and less has to be removed.
You see the result before anything is removed
Photos
You send pictures of your teeth and smile. The dentist sees how the teeth stand and roughly what shade they are, and says whether the minimum is realistic in your case.
Digital design
After the examination and the scan, the future shape is modelled over your own. It becomes clear where there is enough room and where more will have to come off.
Try-in in the mouth
A mock-up is placed on the teeth without any preparation. You look at the future shape in the mirror and decide before a single thing is removed.
When the minimum is not enough
Teeth that protrude
To make the row even, protruding teeth have to be reduced. Otherwise the smile becomes bulkier rather than straighter.
A tooth darkened after root canal
Such a tooth is covered only by thicker ceramic: a thin one lets the colour through and the tooth differs from its neighbours.
Many old fillings and chips
If much of the front surface is no longer your own, there is nothing for the veneer to hold on to. A crown, which wraps the whole tooth, is more reliable.
Marked crowding
Rotated and overlapping teeth are a job for orthodontics. They can be masked with ceramic, but at the cost of healthy tissue.
Common questions
What else to look at
Veneers
Indications, materials, stages and timing — the full service page.
Hollywood smile
When it is not one tooth that changes but the whole smile line.
Prices
Starting prices for veneers, crowns and implants.
Send photos — the dentist will say whether the minimum is enough
Photos show how the teeth stand and what shade they are. That is enough to see the direction; the full picture comes from the examination.