The case for moderate "guided prep" indirect porcelain veneers in the anterior dentition. The pendulum of porcelain veneer preparations: from almost no-prep to over-prep to no-prep.

Abstract

In a historical pendulum of porcelain veneer preparation concepts, an oversimplified version of the so-called "no prep" approaches has resurfaced. A case from the USC student clinics is presented, which could be easily considered by many as a "no prep" veneer case. Moderate tooth preparations guided by natural morphology were used instead with a great benefit on the final outcome. While it is widely accepted that minimally invasive restorative approaches should be favored, a certain controversy exists regarding strictly noninvasive approaches. The purpose of this article is to re-emphasize the concept of guided tooth preparations, based of natural tooth morphology (given by a wax-up and a mock-up), a customized and sensible approach to indirect ceramic veneer tooth preparations.