Can porcelain veneers become yellow? We ask a Molesey dentist for an opinion

Porcelain veneers can become yellow over time says a Moseley dentist. The average life span of porcelain veneers is around 10-15 years, which is the time span that most dentists tend to agree on. Yellowing has been reported around the 10 year mark, but no specific reasoning has yet been clarified. Smoking is an obvious reason as the stains that porcelain will take on, are similar to that of natural enamel. Porcelain is a natural material just like enamel, and as a type of clay it will yellow just as a statue or similar object made of porcelain will do. This generally happens when the material is left for long periods in natural sunlight, as in the placing of a statue in a window. White wine may also be a contributor as it contains acids that will react with porcelain, and cause a yellow stain to develop. The solution to the problem is two fold, first choice would be to replace the veneers altogether, that would be preferable as the matching of colour would be better. Next would be to try a polish up with a semi abrasive brush, the dentist would lightly brush the stain to take the discolouration off, but the deeper the stain is, would determine the success of this method. If it was too deep then the colour below the stain would be much brighter than the white shading of a 10 year old veneer. If the veneer needs to be replaced then the patient would be waiting around 4 weeks for new ones, the procedure is a little more complex than the original one as the old ones have to be ground down to remove them. Once that is done though, the new veneers are simply cemented back in place of the old ones.