Woman looking at fake teeth with a straight white smile.

Veneers can deliver a complete smile makeover. Aside from simply improving the shape of teeth, they can be used to correct gaps, stains, chips, cracks, and more. And when you choose to enhance your smile with veneers, they should look natural. No one wants to make a significant investment in their appearance, only for it to look fake or obvious.

You can rest assured that veneers do not have to appear fake at all. With a combination of modern technology and experienced dentistry, your treatment is sure to result in veneers that are not only beautiful and transformative but also look incredibly natural.

What Factors Make Veneers Look Real?

Modern veneers (specifically the highly-recommended Lumineers brand) craft a natural-looking smile that isn’t bulky, overly white, or too symmetrical to be true. These factors, and others, can contribute to a fake-looking final product and are why choosing an experienced dentist and high-quality veneer combine to make for dazzling (and realistic-looking) results.

before and after lumineers

Super Thin

Newer technology in veneers such as Lumineers offers ultra-thin profiles. It is hard to believe, but Lumineers are about the thickness of a contact lens. That is 0.2 mm in thickness. Not only does this mean Lumineers may not require any preparatory removal of tooth structure (which, by the way, makes them potentially reversible), but their super low profile makes for exceptionally natural-looking results.

Not Too White

Don’t get us wrong, a big benefit of veneers is to whiten teeth, and they certainly do whiten as well as cover stains extremely well. But a too-white smile can appear fake. Ideally, your veneers strike a balance between brightening your smile and blending with the rest of your teeth. The most visible teeth will be stain-free but will also reflect a natural hue without a fake, too-white look.

Translucence

Decades ago, along with being very white, veneers would appear opaque. In other words, this means they were solid in color, which is not natural looking. Your natural teeth are slightly translucent and have a certain amount of dimension. Porcelain is the ideal material because it shares this property with natural teeth. Porcelain also happens to be very durable, so this combination makes it the most preferred material for veneers.

Symmetry

Symmetry is very aesthetically appealing and is typically associated with beauty. However, natural teeth are rarely, if ever, perfectly symmetrical. For this reason, if veneers are made with a too-perfect shape, they can appear fake, resulting in what some refer to as a “piano key smile.” For this reason, well-crafted modern veneers include subtle shape intricacies that make your smile appear straight and beautiful without looking manufactured.

Experience

The skill and experience of your dentist are potentially the most important key to getting a natural-looking result with your veneers. Choose a provider with cosmetic experience so that they will be able to create a subtly enhanced smile. Our practice takes great care to consider your own unique face shape, tooth shade, and other small touches to make your veneers look just like natural teeth.

Still Not Convinced?

Hoffman Dental Care are experts in placing Lumineers. Take a look at these incredible transformations at our Smile Gallery.

We also place high value in patient comfort. One benefit to Lumineers is that with little or no prep, pain relief is often not necessary. Additionally, we offer digital impressions, to avoid the discomfort of traditional trays.

If you want to find out more about how natural a Lumuneer smile can look, contact us today to schedule a free consultation!