Composite veneers
Resin layered by hand at the chair. One visit, little or no enamel removed, reversible, repairable, but stains and wears within five to seven years.
From £595 per tooth
Cosmetic dentistry · Wimpole Street, Marylebone
Dental veneers in London W1: choosing between composite and porcelain
The word veneer covers two quite different treatments. One is a layer of resin sculpted directly onto the tooth in a single appointment; the other is a ceramic shell made in a laboratory and cemented on over two or three visits. Both hide discolouration, rebuild worn edges and reshape the outline of a smile, and both are offered at Wimpole Street, but they differ in cost, in how much enamel is touched, in how long they keep their looks and in how easily they can be repaired or reversed. This page is the overview: what each material is, how we decide which to suggest, and what a veneer plan looks like from first conversation to final polish. The detailed pages on composite veneers and porcelain veneers go deeper on each.
- Composite from £595 · Porcelain from £1,095
- 1 visit (composite) or 2–3 (porcelain)
- 5–7 yrs vs 10–15+ yrs
Suitability
Is it right for you?
A good fit when
- Front teeth that are discoloured in a way whitening cannot fix, particularly single grey or banded teeth.
- Edges worn flat or chipped, provided the cause of the wear is managed.
- Mild crowding, rotation or spacing that can be visually corrected by reshaping outlines.
- Old composite that has stained or been patched repeatedly.
- Teeth that are small, short or narrow in proportion to the smile.
- Patients who have completed orthodontics and want to refine shape and colour afterwards.
Think twice, or choose another route, when
- Teeth that are simply a little yellow; supervised whitening is cheaper and leaves the enamel untouched.
- A single small chip, which bonding repairs for far less.
- Moderate or severe crowding, where aligners or braces move the teeth rather than disguise them.
- Teeth with very little enamel or large fillings that need the full-coverage support of a crown.
- Active gum disease, decay or an unmanaged grinding habit.
The process
How it works at Wimpole Street
- 01
Clarify the complaint
We start by asking what you actually want changed and photographing your smile at rest and in full. It is common for someone to arrive asking for eight veneers and leave with a plan for whitening and two bonded edges.
- 02
Check the foundations
An examination with radiographs confirms the teeth and gums can support veneers. Decay, inflammation and a heavy bite are dealt with first. We also assess how much enamel each tooth has, which shapes the choice of material.
- 03
Choose the material together
Composite if the change is modest, the budget is tighter or you want to keep options open; porcelain if the discolouration is deep, the wear is heavy or you want the finish to hold for a decade or more. Mixed plans are common.
- 04
Preview with a trial smile
For any plan of four teeth or more we recommend a temporary mock-up in the mouth. It costs £250, is credited to treatment and has saved more than one patient from a design they would have regretted.
- 05
Treatment
Composite veneers are built and finished in one sitting of two to four hours. Porcelain involves preparation and temporaries, then fitting the ceramic one to two weeks later once the laboratory has finished.
- 06
Review and protect
A follow-up polish, a bite check and, where needed, a night guard. Then a normal six-monthly hygiene routine keeps either material looking as it should.
Choices
Options & materials
Porcelain veneers
Laboratory ceramic bonded over lightly prepared enamel. Two to three visits, colour-stable and glossy for ten to fifteen years or more, but the preparation is not reversible.
From £1,095 per tooth
Mixed plans
Porcelain on the darkest or most worn teeth, composite where the change is small. Keeps the fee proportionate to the problem on each tooth.
Priced per tooth by material
Fees
What it costs
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
Composite veneer, per tooth Single-visit resin veneer. | From £595 |
Porcelain veneer, per tooth Laboratory ceramic, including temporaries. | From £1,095 |
Six composite veneers Upper front six. | From £3,570 |
Six porcelain veneers Upper front six. | From £6,570 |
Trial smile preview Credited to whichever veneer plan you choose. | £250 |
New patient examination Introductory rate; the usual fee is £95. | £30 |
Indicative Wimpole Street fees, the same as at South Kensington and St Paul's. A written plan with the exact figure is agreed before anything is started.
Afterwards
Looking after the result
- Whichever material you choose, a soft brush and low-abrasion toothpaste protect the surface; skip charcoal and whitening pastes.
- Clean between the teeth every day, easing floss out sideways so you do not catch the veneer edge.
- A night guard is strongly advised if you clench; it protects resin from chipping and porcelain from fracture.
- Keep hard, sticky and very cold foods away from the front teeth where you can, and never open packets with them.
- Six-monthly hygiene visits polish composite and keep porcelain margins clean.
- Book promptly if anything feels rough, loose or sensitive rather than waiting for the next routine visit.
Informed consent
Risks and honest limitations
Every treatment has trade-offs. These are the ones we discuss at the consultation so that a decision is made with full information rather than after the fact.
- Porcelain preparation removes enamel and cannot be undone. A prepared tooth will need a veneer or crown for life.
- Composite is reversible but wears, stains and chips over a shorter horizon; expect refreshing or replacement within roughly five to seven years.
- Neither material is immune to fracture under heavy grinding. A night guard reduces the risk but does not remove it.
- Sensitivity after porcelain preparation is common and usually short-lived; occasionally a tooth needs root canal treatment afterwards.
- Colour is fixed once placed. Natural teeth can be whitened later; veneers cannot, so the whole smile should be planned as one.
- Gum recession over years can reveal a margin line, more visibly with lighter shades. Regular hygiene care slows this but does not stop it entirely.
FAQ
Questions patients ask
Neither is universally better. Composite wins on cost, speed, reversibility and ease of repair; porcelain wins on longevity, stain resistance and colour stability. The right choice depends on how much needs changing, how long you want it to last unchanged and how you feel about enamel removal.
As many teeth as show when you smile widely, so that untreated teeth do not look darker beside the new ones. For many patients that is the upper six; for broad smiles eight or ten. A single veneer to match one discoloured tooth is also common.
Composite veneers leave the enamel almost untouched. Porcelain requires a thin layer to be removed, which cannot be reversed, meaning the tooth will always need covering, but the tooth beneath stays healthy if it is cared for.
You can whiten natural teeth, but the veneers will not change. This is why we suggest whitening first and matching the veneers to the lighter result.
Composite: one appointment of two to four hours after the consultation. Porcelain: a preparation visit, one to two weeks in temporaries, then a fitting visit, so around two to three weeks overall.
A temporary resin mock-up of the proposed veneers placed over your unprepared teeth. You wear it, look at it in daylight and decide whether the shape suits you. The £250 fee is deducted from treatment.
Mild irregularity can be disguised by reshaping the outlines. Anything more than mild is better corrected with aligners first, often followed by fewer or thinner veneers, or none at all.
Yes. The same dentists fit veneers at South Kensington and St Paul’s now, at the same fees, and reviews can transfer to Wimpole Street from 1 October 2026.
Marylebone, W1
Dental veneers at Wimpole Street from 1 October 2026
Register your interest and we will contact you as soon as the Marylebone diary is live. If you would rather start sooner, the same clinicians already see patients in South Kensington and at St Paul’s.
Opening 1 October 2026
Wimpole Street is not yet seeing patients. Until then, please book or call our South Kensington clinic on 020 7183 2362 or our St Paul's clinic on 020 7183 3709. Questions about the new clinic: wimpolestreet@md.co.uk.
Until we open
Need an appointment before 1 October 2026?
The same clinical team already works from two other Medical & Dental clinics. Book at either one now and, if you prefer, move your ongoing care to Wimpole Street once the doors open.
South Kensington
- 20 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3DL
- Open seven days a week
- 020 7183 2362
St Paul's, City of London
- 5 Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7AQ
- Open Monday to Friday
- 020 7183 3709
