When and Why Is a One-Day Laminate Re-treatment Needed??

Laminate treatment was performed for a beautiful smile, but after about 10 years, re-treatment may be needed for various reasons. In this post, we will look at the necessity, process, and precautions for laminate re-treatment, and also introduce our clinic’s signature procedure, “one-day laminate re-treatment.”

When is laminate re-treatment needed?

Re-treatment is considered in the following cases.

1. When the laminate is damaged

• When the laminate cracks or breaks due to trauma or eating hard foods

• When it falls off because the bonding strength has weakened

2. Discoloration occurs

• When the inside of the tooth turns dark over time, or when the margin area becomes discolored and dark, etc.

3. Dental health issues

• When decay develops in the remaining tooth, or when tooth movement occurs due to gum disease or other reasons

4. Aesthetic dissatisfaction

• When the initial treatment result is unsatisfactory, or when a more natural result is desired

How is one-day laminate re-treatment performed?

1. Diagnosis and analysis

Because re-treatment should be done only when it is truly necessary, we analyze whether re-treatment is really needed and what can be improved if we proceed.

2. Existing laminate removal process

This step is very important. The laminate should be removed while minimizing tooth reduction as much as possible, but because the boundary is difficult to distinguish by eye, our clinic uses a 25x Zeiss dental microscope for laminate re-treatment.

Zeiss extaro 300, laminate re-treatment

3. Scan or impression-taking process

After separating the border between the gums and teeth using gingival cord, an impression is taken. Our clinic uses the premium PrimeScan scanner.

4. Laminate design and fabrication process

At our clinic, we provide one-day laminate treatment, completing it on the same day whenever possible for up to 8 teeth.

With the precision of PrimeMill and the craftsmanship of our clinic’s skilled lab director’s hands, each piece is carefully and delicately made one by one.

5. Bonding process after evaluating shade and shape

The laminate made in this way is carefully examined to see whether the shape and color are pleasing to the patient, and then it is meticulously bonded.

Laminate re-treatment case

In the case below, the patient had previously received treatment at another dental clinic, at a hospital known for non-prep laminate, because of laminate discoloration, but returned to our clinic because the result was not satisfactory.

If you look closely at the photos, you can see that the shade is uneven from tooth to tooth and looks mottled, with the lateral incisors appearing brighter than the other teeth and the remaining central incisors and canines being a bit darker. Of course, people who are not very sensitive to color might simply think, “That’s just how it is,” but after careful consideration, we decided to leave the two lateral incisors and re-treat the remaining teeth.

When we removed the existing laminate while minimizing any additional tooth reduction, we found that the teeth had already been sufficiently reduced.

And then we fabricated and attached them again!

Laminate re-treatment case

If you can see the difference above, you likely have a sharp eye for aesthetics. We corrected it to achieve a more uniform shade, and although the difference may seem very small, the patient was greatly satisfied, which made the result especially rewarding for us.

Appearance after restoring a uniform shade

It is the shared wish of all of us at Su Dental Clinic, including myself, that each patient will smile with more confidence and brightness every day.

Su Dental Clinic 3rd Floor, Hanyang Town, 823 Seolleung-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

If you have questions, chat with us on Naver TalkTalk!