Most people research their dentist for months.
Almost nobody asks who is going to make their teeth.
That is understandable. You meet the dentist. You sit in the chair, you look at the photos, you talk through what you want. The person who builds the porcelain usually stays out of sight. But that person has a great deal to do with what you see in the mirror for years afterward.
Two artists, one smile
A veneer is designed in the chair and built at the bench. I design your smile on your face. A ceramist turns that design into porcelain, one layer at a time.
If either one gets it wrong, it shows. If the design is right and the porcelain is flat, you get teeth that look like a product. If the porcelain is beautiful and the design ignores your face, you get beautiful teeth on the wrong person.
What the ceramist actually does
Natural teeth are not one color. They are warmer near the gum, more translucent at the edge, and full of small details you only notice when they are missing.
A skilled ceramist builds that by hand: the body of the tooth, the edge, the subtle surface texture that catches light. It is closer to painting than to manufacturing.
When I look at a natural tooth, I am looking for exactly those details. A little halo along the edge. A soft warmth that isn’t quite amber. Small white spots that make a tooth look like it belongs to a real person. Those are the things I want to communicate before anything is made.
Photos are the language
A ceramist can only work from what they are given. I tell dentists this all the time: the ceramist is only as good as the photographs in front of them.
That is why I take so many photos. Close-ups for texture and translucency. Full-face photos so we can see how the teeth sit with your lips, your skin tone and your expression. If a tooth looks too long in the full-face photo, that is a note for the ceramist. If the edge needs more detail, that is a note too.
A lab form with a shade number cannot carry that information. Photos can.
Why I care where the work is done
Here is how the process works in my practice. Before you leave prep day, we review your new smile together. Color. Shape. Proportion. How it sits on your face when you talk, laugh and eat.
I adjust on the spot until you sign off. Only then do I send the records to our in-house lab.
That order matters. If something isn’t right, we fix it now, not after the porcelain is fired. The ceramist starts from a design you have already approved, not from a guess.
What you should ask
If you are considering veneers anywhere, ask three things:
1. Who makes the porcelain? A name, not just "our lab." 2. Is it layered by hand or milled? Both exist. They are not the same. 3. What does the ceramist see? Photos of your face and the design you approved, or only a form and a shade number?
None of these questions are rude. A dentist who works closely with their ceramist will be happy to answer them.
The takeaway
You are not buying teeth. You are commissioning a piece of work that sits in the middle of your face. It is worth knowing who is making it.
I see patients in Los Angeles and New York.
Continue reading: Why a natural smile isn't perfectly symmetrical · Why I don't do same-day veneers
Common questions
What is a dental ceramist?
A specialist technician who builds porcelain veneers and crowns by hand from the dentist’s design.
Are hand-layered veneers different from milled veneers?
Yes. Hand-layered porcelain is built up in layers to mimic how light moves through a natural tooth. Milled porcelain is cut from a single block.
Does it matter where veneers are made?
What matters most is that the ceramist works from good photos and from a design you have already approved.
This article is general information only and not a substitute for a personal exam and treatment plan from your own dentist.
Cosmetic dentist at Apa Aesthetic in Beverly Hills and New York since 2015. NYU College of Dentistry. Founder and Chief Education Officer of Stribe, where she has trained more than 1,000 dentists.
About Dr. Andi
