Most people who ask about veneers already know what they don’t like about their smile: stains, chips, gaps, or a tooth that has always looked “off.” What they usually haven’t been told is why it happened, and whether veneers alone will hold up against it.
So before we talk about shade or shape, we figure out what’s causing the problem.
We’re in Las Vegas on Lake Sahara Drive near Summerlin, Spring Valley and The Lakes, and this office has been here since 1968. Dr. Sandquist does the veneers here himself. You can skip ahead to real veneer cases from our practice.
Thinking about veneers? Before we talk about shade or shape, we figure out what’s causing the problem.
A card is needed to schedule online. Appointments missed, or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, are charged a $75 fee.
Find the cause first
- Deep, gray-toned staining from childhood antibiotics like tetracycline sits inside the tooth. Whitening doesn’t reach it, so veneers are often the real fix.
- One tooth that has turned gray usually has a nerve problem behind it, and that needs checking before anything goes on the front of it. Why one tooth turns gray.
- Chipped or worn edges can point to a bite problem. If that isn’t dealt with first, new veneers can chip or wear the same way.
- Crooked or crowded teeth might be better straightened with Invisalign first, so less tooth has to be reshaped for veneers, or sometimes none at all.
- Surface stains may only need whitening.
That’s why we start with a real look at your teeth and bite, including the 3D scan we take for every patient. Here’s the order we plan cosmetic work in.
How we make veneers
- Planning and a wax-up. We plan the new shape and color of your teeth, and the lab makes a wax model of the result.
- A trial smile, if you’d like one. We can show you that design in your own mouth before anything is final, so you can see and feel the shape and length and tell us what to change.
- Preparing the teeth. We usually reshape the teeth a little, because most of our patients need some change in alignment or a bigger shift in color, and that takes room for the porcelain.
- Temporaries while you wait. You go home in provisional restorations while the lab makes your final veneers.
- Bonding the final veneers. We check the fit, color and bite, then bond them in place.
How many visits is that? At least two: one to prepare your teeth and take the records, and one to bond the final veneers. Most cases run two to four, because bite checks and follow-up visits are part of getting it right. We’d rather have you back to adjust something than send you off with a bite that’s a little off.
If you’re having both arches done, we work on one at a time. We finish the top start to finish, then begin the lower arch.
Whiten first, if you’re going to. Porcelain doesn’t whiten, so your veneers are matched to your teeth as they are when they’re made. If you want your other teeth lighter, whiten before we match the shade, not after.
Porcelain or composite?
Veneers can be made from porcelain in a lab, or built from composite resin, the same tooth-colored material used in bonding. Each has a real advantage.
- Porcelain keeps its color and shine longer. That’s the main reason we usually recommend it for veneers.
- Composite can be repolished and added to. If it stains, dulls or chips, it can often be fixed in the chair instead of replaced.
Both hold up well in the research. A review of 13 studies of porcelain and glass-ceramic veneers found about 89% still in place after a median of 9 years, and chipping or fracture was the most common problem, in about 4%.
Morimoto S, Albanesi RB, Sesma N, Agra CM, Braga MM. Main clinical outcomes of feldspathic porcelain and glass-ceramic laminate veneers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of survival and complication rates. Int J Prosthodont. 2016;29(1):38-49.
A review of composite veneers found about 88% survival across randomized trials that followed patients for 2 to 8 years. The most common problems were surface roughness, color mismatch and staining at the edges, which fits with composite needing more touch-ups over time.
Lim TW, Tan SK, Li KY, Burrow MF. Survival and complication rates of resin composite laminate veneers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2023;23(4):101911. Only seven studies with shorter follow-up than the porcelain research, so the two numbers aren’t a direct head-to-head comparison.
What actually makes veneers fail, and why many get replaced when nothing is wrong with them, has its own article.
For small chips and gaps, cosmetic bonding is often the simpler answer, and we’ll tell you if that’s the case. One of our composite veneer cases is on the bonding page.
Real veneer cases from our practice
Every one of these is our patient, photographed here, with the work done in our office.
Thirteen years on: A.S.
A.S.’s teeth had yellowed, worn down and drifted out of line. We talked about straightening them first. She decided against orthodontics, so we planned ceramic veneers on her upper and lower front teeth. The before photo is from 2013. The after was taken in 2026.
Before, 2013.
After, 2026: the same veneers thirteen years later.
Straightened first, then veneers: D.P.
D.P. knew something was wrong with her smile. She wanted it broader and more open. Orthodontics moved her teeth into the right position first, then ceramic veneers completed the smile she’d always wanted.
Before. A narrow smile.
After. Orthodontics first, then ceramic veneers.
She asked about whitening: D.T.
D.T. came in asking about whitening, but wasn’t convinced it would be enough on its own. A closer look found real wear underneath the discoloration that whitening couldn’t fix. Ceramic veneers restored both the length and the look she wanted.
Before. Discolored, and worn shorter than they looked at first.
After. Length and color restored with ceramic veneers.
Timed with her surgeon: S.M.
S.M. wanted her veneers redone, but the real story went back to a childhood accident that damaged her upper lip and led to several surgeries. We coordinated the timing with her plastic surgeon, and new ceramic veneers lengthened her teeth, finally giving her the smile she’d been waiting for.
Before. Short front teeth beneath her upper lip.
After. Lengthened with new ceramic veneers.
Sometimes veneers aren’t the answer. One patient’s childhood tetracycline staining was so dark that crowns were the right call. See how we solved C.S.’s staining →
See every case in our Smile Gallery →
In our patients’ words
“Once again, Dr. Doug come to the rescue he put my veneer in to replace the temporary seamlessly without pain and it looks tremendous definitely the best dentist in the country who cares even though he’s a cub fan” Jimmy Cash
“Not only is he an excellent preventive maintenance dentist, but he does beautiful cosmetic work! I often get compliments on my teeth (who does that?!) and I always say, “Thank you, I have the best dentist!”.” Linn Billingsley
More patient reviews, by topic →
Veneers or Invisalign?
If your teeth are out of position, not just stained or worn, veneers can only disguise that, and they take more tooth to do it. Invisalign may be the better first step. Here’s our full comparison.
Getting started
Bring in whatever bothers you about your smile. We’ll look at what’s causing it, whether veneers are the right fix, and what the plan and cost would be. Call 702-734-0776 or tell us what’s going on.