Objective:
This study evaluated the long-term survival of anterior porcelain laminate veneers placed with and without incisal porcelain coverage.

Materials and Methods:
Two prosthodontists in a private dental practice placed 110 labial feldspathic porcelain veneers in 50 patients; 46 veneers were provided with incisal porcelain coverage, and 64 were not. The veneers were evaluated retrospectively from case records for up to 7 years (mean 4 years).

Results:
At 5, 6, and 7 years, the cumulative survival estimates were 95.8% for veneers with incisal porcelain coverage and 85.5% for those without incisal coverage. The difference was not statistically significant. Six of the nine failures occurred from porcelain fracture in the veneers without incisal coverage.

Conclusion:
Although there was a trend for better long-term survival of the veneers with incisal porcelain coverage, this finding was not statistically significant.

PMID: 15237880 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Dental School, The University of Adelaide, South Australia. roger.smales@adelaide.edu.au