This can be used to transform the shape, size or colour of any teeth along with also repairing defects and cavities.

The results can be stunning and indistinguishable from natural teeth. The biggest advantage is it involves little/no drilling and can be done in one visit. However this technique is technically demanding for the clinician as it is all done by hand. However, it is one of our areas of special interest and we have trained over 2500 dentists worldwide on our techniques on the postgraduate courses we run. The treatment involves isolating the teeth from the moisture of the mouth using a special dental dam after which an etching solution and bonding resin is placed. Composite is then sculpted by hand in small increments using a variety of different shades of material. It takes one appointment often with a follow up where superfine polishing is carried out.

It can be used to:

• Cover part of the tooth only (partial).
• Cover the whole front surface of a tooth (veneer) and sometimes the inside too.

It can last from 5-7 years but chipping, wear and staining can occur at any time. They are however easy to repair. Regular polishing of the bonding is recommended.

Extremely coloured diets and smoking will severely reduce the lifespan.