My patients often ask me who usually treats my teeth. Since I was born with a good set of teeth, I hardly see any dentist. However, I had a few mandatory dental treatments as a student which were limited to sealants of deep grooves in my molars which I suspected were not actually necessary. They were just to fill up quotas of dental nurses at my school that time. They were replaced by my third year clinician in dental school when I was in my first year. Later on I was treated by my associate in my practice. I never had the experience of treating myself.
I had a short term orthodontics on my lower jaw to correct slight over crowding when I was doing my post-graduate in the University of Dundee by another post-graduate student at that time. It was just for 5 months and they removed only one tooth. I was completely taken aback years earlier when at least 4 orthodontists wanted to remove all my first premolars to correct the only in standing tooth on my lower jaw.
As the years goes by , nothing eventful happened to my teeth until recently. I started grinding my teeth and they chipped off. As someone who practises cosmetic dentistry, the question was who is going to do those partial veneers on me ? Is it going to be composite veneers or porcelain veneers ? Veneers are done to create a beautiful smile. In my case , it is to retain what I had lost . However it is an artistic procedure.
I came across a dentist who extracted his wisdom tooth and another one who replaced his missing front tooth with a dental implant. I saw some unfavourable and favourable comments on YouTube and Facebook. Why not dental veneers on myself then ? I could do it at my own time and I don’t have to make an appointment with anyone rather than with myself ! Am I asking for trouble when I was contemplating on this ? I am fully aware that having the skills to work on patients doesn’t make me a self portrait artist. 
Digital Smile Design analysis
Provisional veneers in composite because I need to floss my teeth.
Dental Veneers
A porcelain veneer or e.max venner is a type of thin ceramic that can bond to the front of your teeth.
A lithium disilicate (e.max, Ivoclar Vivadent) material was selected for its optical properties and excellent flexural strength and fracture toughness in this region.
Making complicated things simple
The long term clinical success of porcelain veneers depends on a careful case selection and diagnostic approach, as well as accurate and appropriate tooth preparation and adhesive bonding procedures.
The application of rubber dam is recommended to achieve adequate isolation, which helps to provide a clean, dry environment and min- imises contamination from saliva and blood .
Occlusion is carefully checked initially with centric occlusion followed by other excursive movements.
If the bonding procedure was completed smoothly with a well fit- ting veneer, there should be very little cement to clean up from around the margins. It is preferred to not use a rotary instrument to finish the margins, as this may remove the glaze layer, increasing the roughness of the porcelain and causing increased plaque retention. The use of a #12 blade to carefully remove excess cement is a preferred technique, however at times if necessary a fine diamond can be used to adjust the porcelain and then carefully polished.
