Wednesday 21 October 2015

The History of Veneers

Long-lasting and versatile, porcelain veneers are a highly popular cosmetic dental procedure, but they weren't always as widely available as they are now. When first invented, veneers were available only to elite movie stars—and in fact, they were invented to meet Hollywood's demand for picture-perfect smiles.
Hollywood Origins

Veneers were invented in 1928 at the request of Hollywood makeup artists the Westmores, an influential and innovative family who worked with some of the movie industry's brightest stars, including Bette Davis, Vivienne Leigh, Rudolph Valentino, and Lauren Bacall.

The Westmore brothers were dissatisfied at the time with their limited range of options for altering the appearance of an actor's teeth. They wanted to be able to improve the way an actor's teeth looked for aesthetic purposes, and they also wanted more options in terms of innovating new shapes for special roles. A third reason for the request was related to the growing popularity of the “talkies”, thanks to 1927 film The Jazz Singer, the very first feature-length talking movie: the current options available to the Westmore brothers could modify the way the teeth looked, but impaired an actor's ability to speak clearly.

The brothers turned to Californian dentist Charles Pincus, who developed a device that was known first as the “false front” and later as “Hollywood facings”. Charles Pincus' original invention was a series of thin slices of porcelain, contoured and baked to provide stability. Unlike today's veneers, however, the false front was fitted temporarily for filming and personal appearances, and then removed, as the adhesives that were then available were not strong enough to allow permanent placement.
Modern-Day Porcelain Veneers

For several decades, veneers were available only to film and TV stars, and it wasn't until quite recently—in the 1970s and 1980s—that dental technology advanced to the point where porcelain veneers were inexpensive and practical enough for them to become a more mainstream cosmetic treatment.

Innovations such as stronger adhesives, and new methods of porcelain treatment, have created the veneers that we know today, which adhere strongly to teeth and can last for several decades with good care.
A Simple, Versatile Procedure

These days, veneers are a common cosmetic dental procedure we do at Love Family Dental. Present day veneers are so effective at improving the appearance of the teeth that they've come to be known as “instant orthodontics.” As well as improving teeth that are uneven in size or shape, veneers can cover up chipped cracked, and worn teeth, and correct the color of teeth that are resistant to whitening treatments.

And while that Hollywood-perfect smile was once only available to movie stars, now anyone can have a set of porcelain veneers, in just one or two dental visits. Call Drs. Howard and Michael Love at our Astoria dental practice today to learn more about how veneers can give you a picture perfect, Hollywood smile.











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