The Invisible Boundary for Veneers

Have you had patients that have had veneers, a bridge or implants in the aesthetic zone come back reporting vague discomfort around their restorations?

You have eliminated all pulpal, periodontal and occlusal causes but yet the patient still has discomfort!

It could be that you violated the patient's neutral zone. Dawson (2007) spoke about how “Teeth will not stay stable where muscle does not want them to be”.

Put simply, the long-term horizontal positioning of teeth is dictated by something called the neutral zone. This is the zone is well know in full denture design and relates to where there is a balance of forces between the tongue and buccinator and orbicularis oris muscles.

This is why teeth that have been proclined or retroclined after orthodontics requires strict retention. If the teeth are pushed too far labially or lingually the obicularis oris or the tongue muscle will cause relapse and crowding.

To help determine if your veneer is in the neutral zone:

• Closely observe the path of lip closure
• Analyse the phonetics

If you take the necessary steps to stay within the neutral zone, the positions of your veneers will be more stable long-term and will not cause the patient discomfort.