Removal of porcelain veneers aided by a fluorescing luting cement

Porcelain veneers are a safe and effective treatment modality for selected teeth that have poor esthetics. However, removal of porcelain veneers that have failed may be time-consuming and involve considerable removal of sound tooth structure adjacent to the veneer. The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel method of porcelain laminate veneer removal by incorporating a fluorescent dye into the luting cement that allows the practitioner to visualize the cement on the tooth and remove the veneer without causing residual damage to the adjacent tooth substance.

Porcelain veneers were luted on extracted teeth with a luting cement modified with a fluorescing agent. Faculty teaching staff and final year dental undergraduates were asked to remove the veneers with the aid of a curing light to render the luting cement visible by fluorescing. They were then asked to compare the removal of comparable veneers without this visual aid and to complete a standard questionnaire. The depth of cure of the conventional and modified cements was measured using a penetrometer.

Results of the questionnaire indicated that the operators found removing the veneer cemented with the modified (fluorescing) cement considerably easier than removing the veneer cemented with the conventional cement. Microscopy indicated that more damage was caused to the underlying tooth during removal of conventionally cemented veneers. The incorporation of the dye into the cement reduced the depth of cure from 4.238 mm (SD = 0.025) to 3.761 mm (SD = 0.096).