Dental · Dental Veneers
Temporary Veneers: Test-Driving Your New Smile
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Quick answer
In short: temporary veneers are resin provisionals worn for a few days between veneer preparation and bonding of the final ceramics. They protect the prepared teeth and let you test tooth length, shape, speech and lip support before anything permanent is made. They are joined together and only spot-bonded, so they break easily under hard food.
More Than a Placeholder
In a well-run veneer case, the temporaries are the most important decision point: the first time you see, speak with and live with the proposed smile on your own face. What you approve in them is what the laboratory copies into ceramic, and porcelain cannot be meaningfully reshaped once bonded. In a 12-year study of the aesthetic pre-evaluative temporary (APT) technique, in which provisionals made from the approved design guide both preparation and final work, more than 80% of preparations stayed within enamel.1
How They Stay On
Veneer preparations have almost no mechanical retention, so temporaries are made as one connected bis-acryl shell from a silicone index of your approved design. A small dot of acid etch and adhesive on the centre of each tooth (spot-etch bonding) locks the shell in place, leaving the rest of the enamel clean for final bonding and allowing easy removal.
What to Test in Them
- Incisal edge length. At rest, young adults typically show about 2–4 mm of their upper front teeth, and less with age.2
- Speech. On "F" and "V", the upper edges should lightly touch the inner line of the lower lip; on "S", the teeth come close without touching. Persistent lisping or whistling means something needs adjusting.
- Lip support. Over-bulky temporaries push the lip forward; flat ones let it fall in.
Once you approve them, the clinic should photograph and scan the temporaries, and the laboratory copies their contours onto the final veneers. The design process behind them is explained in our guide to digital smile design.
Living With Them for a Week
Chew with your back teeth, and avoid biting into apples, crusty bread, nuts, ice or sticky sweets. Clean under the joined units with a floss threader or water flosser, and limit coffee, tea and red wine. If a section breaks, keep the piece and contact the clinic the same day; never use superglue, which contaminates the enamel. Temporaries should be included in the veneer price, and a clinic that skips them, or makes them freehand rather than from your design, is skipping the stage that protects you from an unwanted result. The same principles apply to temporary crowns.
Who It Suits
Anyone whose teeth have been prepared for veneers needs well-made temporaries, and they matter most when length, shape or proportions are changing, as in an ethical Hollywood smile. Expect some temporary lisping, possible staining and occasional fracture. If you want a reversible change rather than a prototype, composite veneers are the closer option, and porcelain veneers are what the temporaries lead to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my temporary veneers joined together, and how do I floss?
Joining the temporaries into one unit locks them across the arch, which keeps them on far more reliably than separate shells. The trade-off is that normal flossing is impossible. Use a floss threader or superfloss through the small channels left between the teeth, a water flosser at the gum line, and a soft toothbrush. If your gums bleed or swell, tell the clinic, because inflamed gums make final bonding less reliable.
I don't like how my temporaries look. Can the final veneers be changed?
Yes; this is exactly what the provisional phase is for. Tell the clinic specifically what bothers you, whether length, corner shape, midline, bulk or proportions. The dentist adjusts the temporaries or adds composite, then scans the approved version as the template for the ceramics. Changes after bonding are far harder and often mean remaking veneers. Check them in natural light, at rest and while speaking, before you approve.
Why do I speak differently with my temporaries?
Your tongue is used to the old position and thickness of your teeth, and even a millimetre's change affects "S", "F" and "V" sounds. Mild lisping usually settles within one to three days. If it persists, the edges may be too long or the backs too thick, and the temporaries can be adjusted until your speech is natural.
References
- Gurel G, Morimoto S, Calamita MA, Coachman C, Sesma N. Clinical performance of porcelain laminate veneers: outcomes of the aesthetic pre-evaluative temporary (APT) technique. Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2012;32(6):625–635. PubMed
- Vig RG, Brundo GC. The kinetics of anterior tooth display. J Prosthet Dent. 1978;39(5):502–504. PubMed