A veneer is a thin shell bonded to the front of a tooth to change its colour or shape, and a “Hollywood smile” is usually the same work on more teeth. It suits healthy teeth and gums when whitening is not enough, but in most cases a thin layer of the tooth is trimmed for good, so the examination decides whether something simpler would do.
Hours: Sat–Wed 10–6 · Thu 10–4 · Fri closed
It comes in two materials: porcelain, made in a lab to fit your tooth, or composite, built directly onto the tooth. It can also mend a small chip or close a gap, on one tooth or several.
A “Hollywood smile” is not the name of a dental procedure. It is a name the market gave to changing the look of the whole smile. The detail is in Hollywood smile or veneers: what is actually the difference.
This is what we do in cosmetic dentistry. Which of it suits you, if any, is decided at the examination:
And the cost? It is discussed after the examination, and what decides it is explained on What decides the cost of your treatment.
Before the shape, the shade and the material, one question matters more than all of them: how much of your tooth will be trimmed? This is the ladder, from the lightest to the heaviest:
Each step up takes more from the tooth, and a tooth that has been trimmed will need a veneer or a crown for the rest of its life. In a limited number of cases it can be done with little or no trimming, and the examination decides. So the first question to ask any clinic, in any country, including us: roughly how much of my tooth will be trimmed? The rule: start at the bottom of the ladder, and go up one step only when the one below is not enough.
Many people ask for veneers when what they want is something simpler. Ask yourself: what exactly do you want to change?
If you are thinking of a whole smile, every downside on this page multiplies with the number of teeth: more trimming, more edges at the gum, more shells to replace years on. Every extra tooth is one more thing to look after.
These are the steps in order; how many visits your case needs, you find out at the examination. The usual difference in visits between the two materials: composite is usually built on the tooth in the same sitting, while porcelain takes one visit to measure and a second to bond, with the lab work in between.
The examination: teeth, gums, bite and grindingYour teeth and gums are checked, along with how your teeth meet and whether there are signs of grinding. Decay, tartar or inflamed gums are treated before any shell, because a veneer over a problem only hides it until it grows. If your bite is off, it sometimes needs a small adjustment before the veneer or alongside it.
What exactly bothers youThis is where it is decided whether a veneer is the answer at all, or whether whitening, bonding or braces would do the job with no trimming. If a veneer is the answer: how many teeth really need work, which material, and why.
Smile design: the look before the workWith digital planning the look is planned before anything is trimmed, and you see it and say what you think. What you see is an expectation, not a promise, because the final details are decided by your real tooth, your gums and your bite.
Trimming and measuring, or building on the toothWith porcelain: in most cases a thin layer is trimmed from the face of the tooth, under local anaesthetic if it is needed, then your teeth are measured for the lab. With composite: the material is built directly onto the tooth, often with less trimming or none. Usually, during the work you feel pressure and movement, not pain; if you feel anything, you raise your hand.
Fitting, and settling the biteWith porcelain, at the bonding visit the shell is tried on the tooth before it is bonded. With either material, the bite is checked after the work, because when the shape of a tooth changes, the way your teeth meet changes with it, and the shell that takes the most pressure is the one that breaks first.
Follow-upA check-up sees what the mirror cannot: the edge of the shell, the gum around it, whether your bite has started pressing on one spot, and any dark patch as it starts. Follow-up is part of the work, not an extra.
These are the downsides in short. Each one is set out in detail, along with when a veneer is not the answer at all, in The downsides of veneers, before you decide. Read it before you decide, not after.
Two more on top of those: its colour does not change later with whitening, and a shell has a lifespan: years on, it is replaced.
And if your question is “do veneers damage your teeth?”, the full answer is in the same article.
In these cases the answer is usually not a flat “no”. It is “not yet”, or “something else suits better”:
For the right tooth, in the mouth of someone who looks after it, a veneer has its place:
You found one of the site’s secrets. Tell our front desk
A secret word from the House of Secrets: Sage
This secret is already in your notebook.
Your browser blocks saving, so take a photo of this card and show it at the front desk.
Written into your notebook · Open the houseIf you are still thinking about veneers, these are the steps in order:
Ask yourself: what do you want to change?The colour? A small chip? A gap between two teeth? The shape? Not every one of those needs a veneer, and the simpler answers are listed above.
Mention grinding at the first visitDo you wake with a tired jaw? Has anyone told you that you grind in your sleep? Are the edges of your teeth going flat? That is the most useful thing you can bring with you, because it changes the whole plan, and protecting your teeth from grinding becomes part of it from day one.
Health before cosmeticsTartar, decay, gums that bleed: all of it is treated before the veneer, not after. That is not a delay. It is what lets the veneer stay.
Whitening first, not afterIf you want your teeth lighter, whitening comes first, and then the shade of the veneer is chosen to match the new colour. Whitening changes the colour of your natural teeth and does nothing to the shell.
Ask about the trimming, specificallyHow much will be trimmed from each tooth? Can any tooth be done without trimming? What happens to the tooth if I change my mind later? Ask these of any clinic, in any country, including us. If the answers are not clear, take your time. And how do you tell good veneer work from bad? In What makes veneers last, and what shortens their life.
See the look before you commitBefore anything is trimmed, ask to see the planned look and say what you think. That is the moment you can still say “not like this”.
If you are only in Amman for a stretchSay so before anything starts. Porcelain needs a second visit for bonding, and every veneer needs follow-up afterwards, so the visits are planned around your dates before you commit, as far as the work allows. The one thing that cannot be skipped is the follow-up. And a departure date is a poor reason to trim a tooth: if the dates do not allow the work to be done properly, waiting is wiser than hurrying.
Book an examinationAt the examination your teeth, gums and bite are looked at. You hear whether a veneer is for you or not, which material, how much would be trimmed, and what is expected for your own case, and why. Then you decide, in your own time.
A veneer itself does not usually hurt, so most calls about one are not emergencies. But if you have veneers, wherever they were done, some signs should not wait for the next check-up:
Call and we will find you the earliest slot, and tell you what to do until you arrive. Before any painkiller, ask the doctor first, so it suits your case. If the swelling has reached your eye, or it has become hard to swallow or breathe, that is a hospital emergency, not an appointment. And if the clinic is closed and the swelling is growing or you have a high fever, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, and let us know as soon as we open. And if the pain is in another tooth with no veneer: Toothache: what to do right now.
The clinic has a team of dentists, Dr. Adnan Alakhras among them. At the first visit you find out the state of your teeth, gums and bite, and whether a veneer suits you at all or something simpler would do, before any plan is put to you. His qualifications are on his page: Read about the doctor and the clinic.
Usually not. Trimming the tooth is done under local anaesthetic if it is needed, and during the work you feel pressure and movement, not pain; if you feel anything, you raise your hand. Afterwards there can be sensitivity to cold for a few days, sometimes a little longer, because the enamel is thinner, and it usually settles. If it does not settle, you call. Before any painkiller, ask the doctor first, so it suits your case. If it hurts badly now and the clinic is closed: what to do until morning. And if fear itself is the problem, say so from the first moment and we go at your pace. When the visit is hard.
It depends on the material, on how many teeth, and on what the teeth need first. Composite is usually built on the tooth in a single sitting. Porcelain takes one visit to measure and a second to bond, with the lab work in between. A full smile can spread over more visits, especially if whitening, gum treatment or braces come first. If you are only in Amman for a stretch, say so before anything starts and the visits are planned around your dates, as far as the work allows. The actual timing for your case is discussed at the examination. If you have an occasion coming up, say so on the first call: the examination, and treating the gums or decay if needed, are not skipped for an occasion, because trimming is a decision that does not reverse.
Not at the moment. The doctor is looking into it and wants a trustworthy partner before he commits to anything. What you can do now: book the examination, and the decision after it is yours. You find out whether a veneer is what you want at all or something simpler would do, and then you can talk to the doctor about sequencing the plan in stages, the most important first. The cost itself is discussed after the examination, not over the phone or by email. The full answer is under Payment and insurance on What decides the cost of your treatment.
A veneer is a shell on the face of one tooth, in porcelain or composite. A “Hollywood smile” is a popular name for changing the look of the whole smile, and it is usually done with the same veneers on every tooth that shows, or with crowns or whitening alongside. So the difference is not between two names: it is how many teeth, which material, and how much of each tooth is trimmed. Hollywood smile or veneers: what is actually the difference.
In most cases a veneer does not reverse: a thin layer of the tooth is trimmed and never grows back, and after that the shell needs care, can chip or stain or leave the tooth sensitive, and years on is replaced. The downsides one by one, and when something simpler suits: The downsides of veneers, before you decide.
There is no fixed number. The same veneer stays for years in one mouth and chips early in another. The difference is less about the material than about care, habits, follow-up, and the tooth underneath. At the examination you hear what is expected for your case. What makes veneers last, and what shortens their life.
With smile design and digital planning, the look is planned before anything is trimmed, and you see it and say what you think of it. What you see is an expectation, not a promise, because the final details are decided by your real tooth, your gums and your bite.
We suggest only the treatment you need, we tell you why, and we protect your tooth before we think about extraction.
The examination. You find out whether a veneer is for you at all or something simpler would do. Whether you live around the corner or are only in Amman for a while, you then decide in your own time, with no pressure.
This page explains the procedure in general; it is not a diagnosis of your case. The decision is made at the examination, and the cost is discussed after the examination.
