Turkish veneers: thin E-max shells, or crowns?

Turkish veneers are often the first thing UK patients ask us about, and the most common surprise is that some of them do not need veneers at all. At our Turkish dental clinic in Antalya, a veneer means a thin E-max laminate shell bonded to the front of a healthy tooth. A tooth that is badly filled or broken usually needs a crown, and a tooth that is healthy and only a little yellow may need whitening or nothing. This page helps you work out which group your teeth fall into, how veneers in Turkey are made at our clinic, and what they cost.

Veneer or crown: the question that decides everything

A veneer and a crown can look the same once fitted. The difference is what happens to the tooth underneath.

The amount of tooth removed is the part you cannot change later. A well-known laboratory study measured how much tooth structure different preparations take from front teeth. Veneer preparations took a small share. Full crown preparations took well over half of the visible tooth. That is why, if a tooth is healthy enough for a veneer, we would rather fit one than a crown.

The UK slang Turkish teeth mostly refers to the second column: healthy teeth cut into small pegs and capped. It is not what a laminate veneer involves.

Are you a veneer candidate?

You are likely to suit veneers if most of these are true:

• your front teeth are mostly natural, with no fillings or only small ones
• you dislike their colour, shape, small gaps or chipped edges
• your gums are healthy, or can be made healthy first
• your bite is reasonably even and you do not grind heavily, or you will wear a night guard

You are more likely to need crowns, at least on some teeth, if a front tooth has a large filling, has been root-filled, is cracked, or has an old crown already. A veneer needs enamel to bond to. On a tooth that is mostly filling, it has little to hold on to.

And some people need neither. If your teeth are healthy and the only complaint is colour, whitening may be enough. Small chips can often be repaired with composite bonding at £125 per tooth, with no preparation at all. Our dentists, including Dt. Hüseyin Bayram, prefer to keep natural tooth wherever they can, and that sometimes means talking you out of a bigger plan.

How thin is an E-max veneer, and how much enamel goes?

We make our veneers from E-max, a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic made by Ivoclar. In most places a laminate veneer is around 0.3 to 0.5 mm thick. Because it is so thin, only a thin layer of enamel needs to be smoothed away so the veneer sits flush and does not look bulky.

How much is removed depends on the plan. If your teeth sit slightly back, very little may be needed. If they are dark, a little more depth helps hide the colour underneath. If they are crowded, some teeth may need more shaping than others. The dentist explains this tooth by tooth before preparation. Even thin preparation is permanent, so a prepared tooth will always need a veneer or bonding.

The trial smile and digital design

Every veneer case is designed on screen first. Photos of your face and a digital scan of your teeth are used to plan length, width and the line of the edges around your lips. Dt. Şeyda Yılmaz is one of our dentists who works in digital smile design.

The design is then copied into your mouth as a mock-up: tooth-coloured resin placed over your own teeth, with no drilling. You can smile, talk, eat a little and take photos. This is the moment to say if the teeth look too long, too square or too bright. Changing a mock-up is quick. Changing bonded veneers means making new ones.

Choosing a shade that does not look fake

Ceramic comes in shades far brighter than any natural tooth. The very brightest look striking on a phone screen and odd across a table, especially in an older face where the skin and lips have changed. Natural teeth are also not one flat colour: they are slightly darker near the gum and more translucent at the edge.

We compare shades in daylight, held next to your face and your lower teeth. If you want a lighter colour across the whole mouth, we usually suggest whitening the teeth that will not get veneers first, so everything matches. We will give you our honest opinion, and the final choice is yours, made before anything is bonded.

Your stay, step by step

1. Photos from home. Send smile photos by WhatsApp or the form. A dentist replies with a written plan that lists each tooth and an itemised price.
2. Examination. X-rays and a check of gums and old fillings. Anything that needs treating comes first. The plan is confirmed in writing.
3. Design and mock-up. You agree the shape and shade on the trial smile.
4. Preparation. Under local anaesthetic, the teeth are shaped as little as the design allows and scanned. Temporary veneers go on.
5. Try-in. The finished veneers are checked for fit and shade in natural light before bonding.
6. Bonding. Each veneer is bonded and polished, and your bite is checked. If you grind, we talk about a night guard.

Veneers are one trip. Transfers between the airport, hotel and clinic are included; flights are not. Your plan gives the exact length of stay. See your trip for the practical side.

Risks and limits

• It cannot be undone. Prepared enamel does not grow back.
• Chips and debonding. Ceramic can chip and a veneer can come loose, more often in grinders or after a knock.
• Gum changes. If the gum recedes over the years, the edge of a veneer can become visible.
• Colour is set. Veneers do not whiten later. Your own teeth may darken slowly with age while the veneers do not.
• Replacement. Veneers do not last forever and will need replacing at some point.

Price and guarantee

E-max laminate veneers are £300 per tooth. If some teeth need crowns instead, they are added at £150 for zirconia or £225 for E-max. Your written plan shows every tooth and its price. All our figures are on the prices page.

Laminate veneers carry a 3-year written guarantee. Conditions apply, including check-ups and a night guard if you grind, and they are in the written terms on our guarantee page.