Is there a more affordable alternative to Porcelain Veneers?

Often times a patient who is on a budget for their cosmetic dentistry may be able to opt for bonding with composite instead of choosing porcelain veneers. The fee for bonding in my dental practice ranges from $250-$600/tooth depending on the degree of difficulty. The fee for porcelain veneers is $1850/tooth.

As a cosmetic dentist, practicing in NYC for over twenty five years, it has been my experience that bonded restorations can be a long lasting and natural looking alternative. The bonding may be more prone to developing small but is easily repaired. For it to be durable a patient does need to have excellent oral hygiene and should floss. Composite surfaces can develop porosities in a patients who has poor plaque control and the result can be that the restoration becomes stained and unattractive. In my experience, for patients with good dental hygiene the life expectancy for anterior bonded restorations is similar to that of porcelain veneers(10-15 years).

In the example shown above the patient had a class III malocclusion with crowding in his anterior maxillary segment. He didn't want to wear braces and he asked me what I could achieve without orthodontic tooth movement. I made a study model and applied wax to the model and was able to treatment plan 4 bonded restorations on his lateral and central incisors. The result was pleasing and affordable. His left lateral still is shorter than the right, but his occlusion would not allow a longer lateral. He was pleased with the result and it definately improved his appearance.