Most porcelain veneers last well past ten years, and plenty make it to twenty. That’s the short answer, and it’s on our veneers page. The more useful question is what ends them, because most of it is predictable, and a surprising share of the veneers we replace haven’t actually failed at all.
Key points
- Most porcelain veneers last well past ten years, and many reach twenty.
- One of the main reasons we replace veneers is color, not breakage. Porcelain can’t be whitened, so pick a shade you’ll still want in fifteen years.
- Chips and cracks are the most common failure, and they’re mostly about force: grinding and the bite.
- Veneers bonded to enamel hold much better than veneers bonded to the softer dentin underneath.
- A chip or a stain often doesn’t mean new veneers.
The short answer, with the numbers
of porcelain and glass-ceramic veneers still in place after a median of nine years, in a review of 13 studies. Study →
estimated surviving at twenty years, and 93.5% at ten, in an Austrian group that followed 318 veneers for up to 20 years. Study →
surviving at twenty years, when a prosthodontist in Australia tracked 499 of his own veneers. Study →
Morimoto S, Albanesi RB, Sesma N, Agra CM, Braga MM. Int J Prosthodont. 2016;29(1):38-49. PubMed Beier US, Kapferer I, Burtscher D, Dumfahrt H. Clinical performance of porcelain laminate veneers for up to 20 years. Int J Prosthodont. 2012;25(1):79-85. PubMed Layton DM, Walton TR. The up to 21-year clinical outcome and survival of feldspathic porcelain veneers. Int J Prosthodont. 2012;25(6):604-12. PubMed
Those are averages across a lot of mouths. Yours depends on a few things that are known well before the veneers go in, and we’ll get to them.
One of the main reasons we replace veneers isn’t a failure
It’s color. The veneers are fine. The patient just doesn’t feel they’re white enough anymore.
Porcelain keeps the shade it was made in, which is a big part of why it’s used. The flip side is that it can’t be whitened later. If you want your veneers lighter ten years from now, the only way there is new veneers.
None of the studies count this, because nothing broke. But it’s real, and it’s worth thinking about while the veneers are still being planned:
- Pick the shade you’ll still want in fifteen years, not just the one that looks right next to your teeth today.
- Whiten your other teeth first, if you’re going to, and let the color settle. Veneers are matched to your teeth as they are when they’re made. More on whitening.
- Try the smile on before it’s final. We can show you the design in your own mouth first, and that’s the moment to say “lighter.”
What actually wears them out
When veneers do fail, it’s usually one of two things. There’s a third factor you’d never see from the outside.
Most common
Chipping and cracks
This is the most common failure in the research, and it’s the one we see most too. It’s mostly about force. In the 20-year study, patients who ground their teeth had 7.7 times the risk of failure. Veneers meet the opposing teeth thousands of times a day, and if the bite isn’t right, the porcelain takes the load.
Second
Staining at the seams
The edge where the veneer meets the tooth, what we call the margin, can pick up stain over the years and show up as a thin dark line. In the same study it was significantly worse in smokers.
Hidden
What it’s bonded to
Veneers bonded to enamel hold much better than veneers bonded to the softer dentin underneath it. In one study of 580 veneers, those bonded to dentin were about ten times more likely to fail, and the ones kept entirely in enamel had 99% survival. Teeth that had lost their nerve also failed more often in the 20-year study.
Gurel G, Sesma N, Calamita MA, Coachman C, Morimoto S. Influence of enamel preservation on failure rates of porcelain laminate veneers. Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2013;33(1):31-9. PubMed
That’s why we check the bite, the enamel and the health of each tooth before we make veneers, not after one breaks.
Not every problem means new veneers
A lot of people assume a chip or a stain means starting over. Often it doesn’t.
- A small chip can often be polished off.
- A veneer that breaks can often be bonded back on. If that happens, keep the pieces and call us.
- Stain at the edges can sometimes be fixed without replacing anything.
Whether yours can be is something we’d need to see in person. But it’s worth asking before assuming the whole set has to go.
Do you need a night guard?
There was a time we made a night guard for every veneer case. We don’t anymore, as long as the bite is worked out when the veneers are done. Getting the bite right is what protects them. Now it’s case by case, and we’ll tell you whether yours needs one.
What long-term looks like here
Studies are one thing. We also have our own patients.
A.S., before her veneers in 2013 and thirteen years later in 2026. See her case →
- A.S. had teeth that had yellowed, worn down and drifted. She decided against straightening them first, so we planned ceramic veneers on her upper and lower front teeth in 2013. Her follow-up photo was taken in 2026. See her case.
- T.F. came to us with old, uneven veneers that were wearing down her lower teeth. Replacing them alone would have repeated the problem, so she had arch expansion with an orthodontist first. See her case.
- S.M. wanted her veneers redone. We coordinated the timing with her plastic surgeon, and the new veneers lengthened her teeth. See her case.
Ceramic work in general holds up here too. T.C.’s ceramic crowns were placed for tetracycline staining, and his photos are twenty years apart. See his case.
Porcelain or composite, over the long run
Composite veneers are built from the same tooth-colored material used in bonding. They don’t keep their color and shine as long as porcelain, and a review of composite veneers found about 88% survival over 2 to 8 years. What they have going for them is that they can be repolished and added to in the chair, so a lot of their problems get fixed rather than replaced. More on the difference.
| Porcelain | Composite | |
|---|---|---|
| How long | Most last well past ten years, and many reach twenty | About 88% survival over 2 to 8 years |
| Color and shine | Keeps the shade it was made in, and can’t be whitened later | Doesn’t keep its color and shine as long |
| When something goes wrong | A small chip can often be polished off, and a broken veneer can often be bonded back on | Can be repolished and added to in the chair |
Lim TW, Tan SK, Li KY, Burrow MF. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2023;23(4):101911. PubMed
If your veneers are getting older
It’s worth having them looked at if you notice
- a chip or a rough edge you can feel with your tongue
- a dark line where the veneer meets the tooth
- a veneer that feels loose, or one that has come off
- a shade you’re no longer happy with
The last one counts. If the color is what bothers you, that’s a perfectly good reason to talk about it, and we’ll tell you honestly whether new veneers are the answer or whether something smaller will do.
Call 702-734-0776 or tell us what’s going on.