What's an actor's most important feature? According to Vivica A. Fox, whose most recent big-screen role was in Independence Day: Resurgence, it's what you see right up front.

"On screen, your smile and your eyes are the most inviting things that bring the audience in" she said. "Especially if you play the hot chick."

But like lots of people, Vivica reached a point where she felt her smile needed a little help in order to look its best. That's when she turned to a popular cosmetic dental treatment.

"I got veneers years ago," Ms. Fox told Dear Doctor magazine in a recent interview, "just because I had some gapping that probably only I noticed."

What exactly are dental veneers? Essentially, they are thin shells of lustrous porcelain that are permanently attached to the front surfaces of the teeth. Tough, lifelike and stain-resistant, they can cover up a number of defects in your smile — including stains, chips, cracks, and even minor spacing irregularities like the ones Vivica had.

Veneers have become the treatment of choice for Hollywood celebs — and lots of regular folks too — for many reasons. Unlike some treatments that can take many months, it takes just a few appointments to have veneers placed on your teeth. Because they are custom made just for you, they allow you to decide how bright you want your smile to be: anywhere from a natural pearly hue to a brilliant "Hollywood white." Best of all, they are easy to maintain, and can last for many years with only routine care.

To place traditional veneers, it's necessary to prepare the tooth by removing a small amount (a millimeter or two) of its enamel surface. This keeps it from feeling too big — but it also means the treatment can't be reversed, so once you get veneers, you'll always have them. In certain situations, "no-prep" or minimal-prep veneers, which require little or no removal of tooth enamel, may be an option for some people.

Veneers aren't the only way to create a better smile: Teeth whitening, crowns or orthodontic work may also be an alternative. But for many, veneers are the preferred option. What does Vivica think of hers?

"I love my veneers!" she declared, noting that they have held up well for over a decade.

For more information about veneers, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

Porcelain veneers represent one of the best values in cosmetic dentistry, capable of radically changing a person’s smile with little tooth surface preparation. Still, the small amount of tooth enamel usually removed to accommodate them will permanently alter the affected teeth, to the point they will require a veneer or other restoration from then on.

The traditional veneer has remarkable versatility for solving a number of minor cosmetic problems, correcting mild tooth positioning problems and replacing lost or damaged enamel. But to avoid an unnatural bulky appearance, a portion of the tooth enamel must be permanently removed to accommodate them.

In recent years, though, a new concept known as “prepless veneers” has emerged in the field of cosmetic dentistry. Understandably, this new, “drill-free” veneer application has caused a lot of debate among dentists and patients alike, with concerns of bulky, overly-contoured teeth resulting from the technique. But the concept is growing as many well-regarded dentists have incorporated both minimal prep and prepless veneers into their service offerings.

The prepless veneer offers a cosmetic solution that doesn’t alter the tooth permanently. Using techniques such as feathering, which tapers and blends the veneer seamlessly with the tooth at the gum line, we can avoid an unnatural appearance while offering patients a much less invasive outcome.

The main disadvantage of prepless veneers at this time is that they’re not appropriate in every case. In fact, careful patient selection is a key to a successful outcome. For example, relatively large teeth or teeth positioned too far forward don’t work well with an added layer of thickness.

If, on the other hand, you have small, short or worn teeth, or teeth overshadowed by your lips — just to name a few likely scenarios — then you may benefit immensely from prepless veneers without permanent alteration to your teeth. A detailed examination is your first step to finding out if this new technique could provide you with a less-invasive smile makeover.

If you would like more information on drill-free porcelain veneers, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Porcelain Veneers without the Drill.”