Lumineers is the trademark of a particular brand of porcelain veneers, made by DenMat. DenMat requires that they be made in their dental laboratory, and they offer a certification course for dentists to train them in their placement.
While Lumineers may be the most heavily advertised brand of porcelain veneers, they are criticized by many cosmetic dentists for what they see as a lack of lifelike beauty in them. Their strongest selling point is their excellent strength, which enables them to be made slightly thinner than some porcelain veneers. They can be made to a thickness of 0.3 mm, instead of the usual 0.5 mm. However, there are other brands that can also be made this thin, such as DURAthin and Vivaneers.
If the porcelain is thinner, that means less grinding of the teeth is necessary. In some cases, there may be no grinding of the teeth required.
An Alternative to Lumineers
When a thin porcelain veneer is needed, there is another brand of porcelain that is preferred by Dr. McKay and many cosmetic dentists, and that is DURAthin. Developed under the guidance of renowned cosmetic dentist and educator Dr. Dennis Wells of Nashville, they are highly regarded in cosmetic dentistry circles, and are considered more lifelike and aesthetic.
Be Careful in Selecting a Seattle Lumineers Dentist
The Lumineers certification process has been criticized as providing seriously inadequate training for preparing dentists to do smile makeovers. Many cosmetic dentists feel that it takes several years of continuing education courses and experience to learn how to do a beautiful smile makeover. Their two-day course falls seriously short of that.
An additional problem is caused by the marketing of Lumineers. They are promoted to the dental profession as being very easy to place and very lucrative. This attracts dentists who don’t have a sufficient background in cosmetic dentistry to do them beautifully. So be careful.
