I case study _ veneers Aesthetic functional veneers in patients with habitual dysfunctions? Author_ Prof Martin Jörgens, Germany _Presently, numerous options for nonpreparation veneers are available on the market. These have been proven to be effective and serve as an excellent marketing tool in the dental practice specialising in aesthetics. However, these types of veneers are not applicable for patients with individual colour or shape requests or those suffering from a habitual dysfunction. For such patients, a standardised veneer preparation is generally excluded. Figs. 1–3_Initial situation with pronounced habitual dysfunction. In such cases, an extensive functional analysis is indispensable for the preparation of the veneers in order to facilitate harmonious occlusion and, most importantly, to enable smooth articulation. The aim of each veneer case should always be to achieve health, aesthetics and longevity of the veneers while minimising the risk of fractures. Accurate clinical examination and documentation of the basic functional parameters is essential in order to identify where overloading exists or where it can occur. State-of-the-art diagnostic instruments, like CADIAX and Freecorder, provide comprehensive functional analysis and are extremely helpful. The articulator is programmed according to the patient’s articulation and allows the dental technician to reproduce functional occlusion surfaces corresponding to the natural dentition. Functional disorders resulting from imbalanced prosthetic treatment and dysfunction can be avoided. Smooth articulation should also be achieved in the molar region where old fillings, inlays/onlays or crowns may result in malocclusion and cause para-function. If necessary, retained wisdom teeth should be removed and orthodontic pre-therapies used to correct existing malfunctions. In addition, pre-prosthetic orthodontics may result in minor material removal in a planned preparation. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 _Case study The following case study demonstrates the interaction between aesthetics and function in the preparation of veneers in a patient with severely advanced habitual dysfunction. The patient also had severely damaged upper anterior teeth due to extreme latero-trusion habits. Fig. 3 14 I cosmetic dentistry 4_ 2009