When bonded to prepared enamel substrate, feldspathic porcelain veneers have excellent long-term survival and low failure rates, according to a study in the International Journal of Prosthodontics (November/December 2012, Vol. 25:6, pp. 604-612).
The study included 499 porcelain veneers placed in 155 patients by an Australian prosthodontist between 1990 and 2010, with 239 veneers (88 patients) placed before 2001 and 260 veneers (67 patients) placed after. Nonvital teeth, molar teeth, or teeth with an unfavorable periodontal prognosis were excluded.
Many patients received more than one veneer, and clustered outcomes were accounted for by randomly selecting one veneer per patient for analysis. For the random sample of veneers (n = 155), the estimated cumulative survival rates were 96% ± 2% (10 years) and 96% ± 2% (20 years). For the entire sample, the survival rates were 96% ± 1% (10 years) and 91% ± 2% (20 years). Survival did not statistically differ between these groups (p = 0.65).
The study authors reported that 17 veneers in eight patients failed, 75 veneers in 30 patients were classified as unknown, and 407 veneers in 130 patients survived.
