Lumineers for teeth and their cost, photos before and after installation

Description

Lumineers are super-thin veneers that are bonded to the front surface of your teeth. They consist of porcelain or ceramics.

The details of lumineers contour to the shape of the tooth, hiding irregularities in the enamel. They are applied so that the cutting part of the tooth is covered.

Their thickness can be compared to eye lenses. In addition, Lumineers do not require grinding of the surface of the teeth, similar to veneers. In terms of strength, they are not inferior to metal-ceramic crowns.

With the help of lumineers you can truly achieve the perfect smile. Let's watch the following video:

Description and features

The products are essentially the thinnest porcelain plates that are placed on the teeth and make them perfectly smooth, snow-white and shining. At first glance, they resemble veneers, but at the same time they have a number of fundamental differences.

The thickness of lumineers is equal to the thickness of a contact lens - you can imagine the precision and care required in their manufacture. The minimum thickness of veneers is 0.5 mm, which often requires treatment of the tooth before installation. The maximum thickness of lumineers is no more than 0.2 mm, which makes them completely invisible.

The production technology is such that, despite their apparent fragility, they are very durable and practically not susceptible to cracking. And the biggest difference is that these products are not fixed dentures; they can be removed if necessary without effort or damage to tooth enamel.

The product protrudes above the lower teeth by no more than 1.5 mm - this is enough to correct teeth that are uneven in height and make them ideal. Lumineers reliably hide defects and make a smile flawless, while others will not even suspect that it is not natural.

Differences from veneers

Lumineers differ from veneers:

• thick;
• degree of preparation for gluing the lining;
• compatibility of the color of the lining with the shade of tooth enamel;
• strength;
• service life;
• the ability to remove the structure.

The thickness of veneers is 0.6–1.5 mm, while lumineers are 0.2–0.3 mm.

In preparation for the installation of conventional veneers, teeth are ground down. It consists in the fact that you have to erase the enamel and make notches on it.

When using lumineers, only cleaning and minor grinding of a row of incisors is required.

We will tell you which teeth are better to insert: plastic or ceramic in our next article. In the following overview, you will learn how to get used to a removable upper denture.

Modeling technologies for the production of lumineers make it possible to bring the color of the overlays as close as possible to the natural one. Their service life is more than 20 years.

If problems arise while wearing ultra-thin onlays, they can be removed without risk to dental health. When installing veneers, the patient is fully informed that he must use them for the rest of his life.

Characteristics of lumineers

Lumineers appeared not so long ago. People often call them “Hollywood”, since they were used to create a snow-white smile for stars. DenMat produced the pads and patented the technology.

Not all people know the differences between veneers and lumineers, but any dentist will tell you what the difference is. For the new technology, ultra-thin plates are made. Their thickness does not exceed 0.3 mm. They allow you to hide the following defects:

• small cracks;
• slight curvature;
• yellowness.

Lumineers are completely safe for enamel and can be installed in one session. Most often they are used to whiten teeth. The structure is fixed using a special glue that contains special minerals. The products can strengthen enamel and heal small cracks.

Dentists guarantee a long service life of lumineers. When used correctly, they can be used for 20 years. The thin material does not cause any discomfort. The tight fit of the plate prevents the penetration of bacteria and mechanical damage.

Indications for use

Despite the many advantages, lumineers are not suitable for everyone. What indications exist for them? Such:

• the presence of cracks and stains on the surface of the crowns;
• uneven line of a number of central and lateral incisors;
• incorrect bite (not in all cases);
• masking large dental gaps;
• tetracycline teeth and fluorosis;
• restoration of age-related changes in the dentition or underdevelopment.

When wearing crowns, their surface darkens over time and chips may appear. These damages are not always amenable to chemical bleaching and other methods of cleaning and leveling. It is in such cases that lumineers are installed.

At the same time, such dental stains should not be too bright, but stand out moderately against the general background of a row of incisors.

In all cases where there are uneven teeth, lumineers help to cope with such problems and give greater aesthetics to the smile.

If there are gaps between the upper and lower rows of crowns and fillings, ultra-thin veneers correct the closure line. They are also often used when there are indications for wearing braces.

In case of diastema and other visual defects of the patient’s own enamel, lumineers level and close large gaps. This is due to the fact that lumineers are installed on some teeth with a margin of width.

With prolonged exposure to fluoride compounds in the patient's body, fluorosis may occur. Externally, it is expressed in yellow or white spots on the enamel.

Due to the intake of tetracycline group antibiotics during the formation of the enamel layer, a change in its shade may occur.

As old age approaches, degenerative changes occur in the jaw apparatus, causing the bite and position of the teeth relative to each other to change. In this case, installing lumineers can help.

Contraindications

If you have caries, periodontitis, or very sensitive enamel, lumineers are not recommended. This can lead to the infection spreading throughout the entire oral cavity, resulting in the patient losing all teeth or the enamel being completely erased.

Since lumineers are installed without grinding, this leads to difficulties in fitting the structures to the gum edge. Therefore, bleeding of the gum tissue may occur.

There are also contraindications to installing lumineers:

• crooked and displaced teeth beyond acceptable limits (abnormal);
• bruxism;
• pathology of the enamel layer;
• fillings that are too old and damaged;
• large filling area (occupies more than 1/2 of the incisor area)

Lumineers: before and after photos

Below you can see what Lumineers look like before and after – photos of real patients. In this section we have published photos of the most successful cases of treatment. Below (in the “Reviews” section) you can also see photos of not very successful cases of treatment, when teeth began to look artificial and not natural (24stoma.ru).

Advantages

The advantages of lumineers include:

• The fact that they are light and durable, the patient gets used to them quickly.
• are installed in 2–3 visits to the doctor, which saves time.
• give the perfect snow-white smile by selecting a shade from 15 possible options. It is also called Hollywood.
• No food debris gets under the bottom of the lumineers; they adhere to the enamel much more firmly than their analogues.
• they are installed without anesthesia, since the process of gluing the plates is painless.
• Temporary onlays are not used, which saves installation time and the cost of prosthetics.
• ceramic structures do not emit harmful substances.
• are not subject to change in shade when eating foods that have coloring.
• The adhesive composition for attaching microprostheses contains fluorine, which strengthens the enamel.

Lumineers are fixed both to artificial structures (prostheses, crowns) and to a person’s own teeth.

Advantages and disadvantages

The following advantages, highlighted by dentists and patients who have already installed them on their teeth, will help you make a decision in favor of installing lumineers:

• the tooth cannot be ground before installation;
• The complete procedure from the first consultation to installation takes a minimum of time ; you will have to visit the dentist 2-3 times;
• no need for anesthesia;
• temporary dentures or onlays are not installed;
• the composition of the products is absolutely non-toxic and harmless , incompatibility is completely excluded;
• the enamel does not become more sensitive , and the lumineer itself does not darken even after several years with regular consumption of cola, coffee or red wine;
• the glue with which the ceramic overlays are fixed contains fluorine, thus at the same time the tooth is also subjected to a fluoridation procedure;
• high level of aesthetics - the product is practically indistinguishable in color and texture from a natural unit;
• the patient does not experience any discomfort, there is no adaptation period ;
• testing has shown that lumineers can last several decades , that is, virtually until the end of life;
• can be removed - all functions are retained after removing the plates .

If we talk about shortcomings, they practically do not exist. The teeth may look slightly larger, but an ignorant person will hardly notice the difference.

So far, only the high cost is deterring us - they are made only in the USA, so the price is quite understandable.

Flaws

Despite the above advantages, there are a number of disadvantages of this type of prosthetics, such as:

• They make teeth much larger, which can result in a “horse smile” effect in patients with large teeth.
• With pronounced stains on the tooth enamel, problems arise in masking the teeth. Since lumineers have several degrees of transparency, their installation on overly pigmented teeth is not justified, as it will appear like plastic on the teeth.
• If you install lumineers without a preparation procedure, then their protruding parts in the area of ​​interdental spaces will accumulate all the pathogenic bacteria if hygiene is insufficient. They will also lead to injury to the gum tissue.

Installation of lumineers –

To receive custom-made Lumineers® Cerinate, you will need to visit your dentist twice. During your first visit, your dentist will take impressions of your upper and lower teeth, take photographs of your teeth, and discuss the color and transparency of your future lumineers with you. This will end your first visit, and the clinic will immediately send your impressions to the dental laboratory.

During your second visit (after about 1 month), you will be invited back to the clinic, and the dentist will install ready-made lumineers on your teeth. To fix them, a special super strong “cement” is used, which will make your teeth and the lumineers glued to them one whole. Finally, the dentist must check the contacts between the upper and lower teeth. This is important because If the chewing pressure is not distributed evenly on the teeth, this can lead to breakage of some lumineers.

If you chose not the original Lumineers® Cerinate, but thin E.max glass-ceramic veneers, then their production time will take about 1.5-2 weeks. And in our opinion, individually made thin E.max veneers will truly be the best choice, both in terms of price and quality.

Installation of lumineers from standard sets –

If you install lumineers from ready-made standardized sets of Lumineers® DUO (Fig. 15-16), keep in mind that they will not take into account the characteristics of your teeth. This means that after fixing the lumineers, there will be small steps between the teeth and in the gum area, which will be impossible to completely remove. In general, these are ordinary dental veneers - the price of which will still be very high.

Lumineers® DUO can be installed the same day you visit your dentist. After fixing them to the teeth with a special composite “glue”, the doctor will grind them with a drill for a long time, bringing their appearance to perfection (after which a very thorough polishing process will still be required).

Manufacturing and installation

Lumineers are placed on one or more front and lateral incisors, their number does not exceed 10.

Installation is carried out in several stages:

• Preparation;
• manufacturing;
• fitting;
• installation.

At the initial stage, the dentist must treat teeth for caries and periodontal disease. Next, he grinds down the enamel a little, if necessary. Then he makes an impression of the dentition, determining the correct bite.

Selects the desired shade of enamel using the Vita scale. He brings each color to the patient’s teeth and looks at the compatibility.

All results are entered into a smile modeling computer program. As a result, the dentist sends the impression data to the production laboratory. While production is underway, the patient must wear temporary pads.

Since the production of structures of this type is located only in America, their production will take about 1–1.5 months.

A ceramic model is cast from the cast and then polished. Then it is pressed and the finished product is obtained.

The first fitting is carried out; if there are no defects, the dentist will prepare the crowns or teeth for gluing the plates.

If there are large errors, the specialist makes a second impression and the construction is made at the expense of dentistry.

Did you know that removable dentures require special care? We will talk about this in the next article. From this review you will know how much it costs to build up a front tooth.

By clicking on the following link: https://dentist-pro.ru/implantaciya/proizvoditeli/osstem/obzor-kataloga.html, you will find information about the price of Osstem implants.

After the prosthesis fits, for single crowns, the dentist grinds the protruding parts so that the onlay does not protrude from the general row.

Give the surface of the crowns a slight roughness so that the glue adheres better. After this treatment, a special acid-resistant substance is applied to their surface. Using glue containing fluoride, lumineers are fixed to the teeth.

Installation

Installing the plates takes a certain amount of time and is divided into several stages:

• On the first day of your visit to the dentist, impressions are taken. Then, based on them, plaster models will be cast, and lumineers will be made on them;
• using a computer program, the patient will be simulated the desired smile format;
• on the second day - fitting of the overlays is carried out;
• on the third day, the dentist will perform the procedure for fixing the onlay. This is done on the front surface using gypsum that is resistant to destruction by food acids. The procedure is painless, it does not require any injections or other mechanical influences.

The period that the patient will have to wait before delighting others with his rainbow smile, as a rule, is no more than 30 days.

Wearing and care

Care for microprostheses in most cases is the same as when wearing other structures:

• Regular oral care is required (brushing, flossing), rinsing after each meal.
• It is not recommended to crack seeds or nuts or chew very hard food.
• You also need to visit the dentist once every six months for preventive purposes and promptly treat caries and other oral diseases.

Care

Like any other item designed to create comfort and beauty for the patient in the dental office, porcelain plates require care. Only then will they be able to maintain their unique aesthetic characteristics. Some tips for following the rules for caring for lumineers:

• The plates need regular brushing. It must be said that special or any special toothpastes are not required for this hygienic procedure;
• if you want to maintain the whiteness of your teeth and the structural strength of the porcelain plates, constantly use a special dental floss;
• To prevent harmful microorganisms from remaining in the oral cavity, rinse regularly, especially carefully after meals;
• Make sure your diet is free of foods such as nuts. Sunflower seeds, by the way, should also be excluded;
• try to quit smoking. If you cannot do this, then “enjoy” tobacco smoke from cigarettes, but not from a smoking pipe.
• do not bite the threads;
• the trip to the dentist’s office should become familiar to you, as should professional cleaning of plates for preventive purposes.

Life time

The service life of lumineers ranges from 20 years and depends on how well the oral cavity and microprostheses are taken care of.

Dentists provide a minimum guarantee on structures for a period of 5 years. But there are offers from some doctors who give a 20-year guarantee. These terms depend on how confident the doctor is in the success of the microprosthetics procedure.

The installation of such structures makes the smile noticeable to others and aesthetically pleasing. Many options for choosing the color of the future “enamel” allow you to select designs with the greatest efficiency.

There are also contraindications to the installation of lumineers. In this regard, it is recommended to take seriously the choice of the method of prosthetics and the dental clinic.

How has the effectiveness of lumineers been proven?

On a note! A smile made with lumineers is often called a “million-dollar smile,” because it looks so expensive and flawless. Domestic and foreign stars prove this by choosing unique overlays for themselves: Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, the Beckhams, Alla Pugacheva1.

Surely many have heard about the high cost of lumineers, which starts from 30,000 rubles per piece. If the price scares you and you are unsure whether to install lumineers on your teeth, then reviews about the pros and cons of the plates will help you decide. Below is one of them:

“I share my joy. I made 8 upper front teeth using lumineers in a Moscow clinic, none of them were ground down, impressions were taken and it was recommended to cure all caries before installation. I am 100 percent satisfied with the smile!!!! no discomfort, they don’t come off, I can eat calmly, I’ve never regretted the money I gave. But I came across a doctor who lived in the USA for more than 7 years and studied there, so look for experts in your field!!!”

Matilda Brook, from correspondence on dental forums

Reviews about lumineers on teeth from both specialists and patients are generally almost unanimously positive, because the overlays effectively correct any defects in the smile area and have undeniable advantages over other microprostheses (in particular, over veneers):

• lumineers are ultra-thin: having a thickness of less than half a millimeter, they are comparable to contact lenses, fit tightly to the surface of the tooth without protruding forward,
• when installing them, the enamel of your natural teeth remains intact and intact, since there is no need to resort to grinding it down,
• are manufactured in accordance with the individual characteristics of the maxillofacial system of a particular patient, therefore each of the onlays is unique and has its own number, and the patient is given a quality certificate,
• natural shine and whiteness: allow the smile to look natural,
• give the smile maximum aesthetics, produce a rejuvenating effect,
• solve a complex of problems at once: hide plaque, cracks, fillings, chips, crevices,
• color fastness: lumineers are not affected by coloring food pigments and retain their original shade,
• protect teeth from negative factors and reduce enamel sensitivity,
• durable: their service life can reach 20 years or more.

When a patient installs lumineers on their teeth, before and after photos immediately show a huge difference. The smile area is transformed, the teeth become straight, smooth, shiny, and most importantly, they look natural. Patients with Lumineers begin to feel confident, they no longer feel embarrassed when communicating, they like themselves in photographs and take more photographs, and their quality of life also improves significantly.

Experts note that before you go for the procedure to install lumineers, it is recommended to request a certificate stating that the doctor has completed the appropriate training. Indeed, despite the strength and excellent quality of the overlays themselves, the result largely depends on the professionalism of the doctor who places them. To ensure that your new smile makes you happy and that only a specialist can recognize it, take the time to carefully study the information and find a competent dentist.