Veneers are thin shells of porcelain or composite bonded to the front of your teeth to change their shape, colour, and alignment. Done well, nobody can tell you have had anything done; they just notice you look better. Done badly, everyone can tell.

Dr. Wes Prepchuk provides veneers at Springbank Hill Dental and plans each case from digital imaging taken here at the clinic. He has completed thousands of crowns and restorations over the past ten years, and he matches shade and shape to your face rather than to a chart.

Placing a conventional porcelain veneer means removing a thin layer of enamel from the front of the tooth, typically around half a millimetre. Enamel does not regenerate. Once it is removed, that tooth will need a veneer or a crown on it permanently. If the veneer chips or fails in fifteen years, it is replaced, not left off.

For the right case that is a reasonable trade, and patients are glad they did it. For the wrong case it is an expensive, irreversible answer to a problem that whitening, bonding, or clear aligners would have solved while leaving the tooth intact. We will tell you which one you are, including when the answer is that you do not need veneers.

• Teeth that are permanently discoloured and do not respond to whitening, including tetracycline staining and single dark teeth after root canal treatment
• Worn, short, or uneven front edges
• Teeth that are misshapen or noticeably small
• Chips and old, discoloured bonding that keeps failing
• Small gaps, when the teeth are otherwise well positioned
• Mildly rotated teeth, by reshaping the visible surface

Where veneers are the wrong answer:

• Genuinely crooked teeth. Aligners move the tooth. Veneers disguise its position and destroy enamel doing it. If a gap or crowding can be closed orthodontically, that is the more conservative treatment and we will say so.
• Active decay or gum disease. Cosmetic work placed over either fails. Those get treated first.
• Heavy grinding, unless it is managed. Porcelain fractures under sustained load. A nightguard is not optional if you grind.
• Teeth with very little enamel remaining. Veneers bond to enamel; they bond poorly to dentin.
• A structurally compromised tooth. That needs a crown, which covers the whole tooth rather than only the front.

Porcelain veneers are made in a laboratory and bonded on at a second appointment. They resist staining, hold their appearance for years, and look the most natural. They cost more and they require the enamel preparation described above.

Composite veneers are built directly onto the tooth in a single visit. They cost considerably less, need little or no enamel removed, and can be repaired or added to. They stain over time and do not last as long.

Composite is often the sensible starting point for a younger patient, or for someone who wants to see the shape change before committing to porcelain. Porcelain is the better long-term answer where the case justifies it. We offer both, and the recommendation depends on your teeth and how long you want the result to last.

Veneers are priced per tooth, and porcelain and composite sit at very different price points. A single veneer to fix one dark front tooth is a different proposition from six or eight across the smile line.

Springbank Hill Dental follows the Alberta Dental Association Fee Guide, so every veneer is priced against a published provincial standard you can check. Purely cosmetic veneers are rarely covered by insurance, though a veneer restoring a broken tooth sometimes is. We submit a predetermination so you know which applies, and payment plans are available.

Book a veneer consultation at Springbank Hill Dental by calling (403) 454-4757 or booking online. We are at 133-7460 Springbank Blvd SW, open from 7:00 am Wednesday through Saturday and until 8:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. New patients are welcome, no referral is needed, and parking is free.