Porcelain Veneers Cost UK: What You'll Pay Per Tooth in 2026

Porcelain veneers cost most people between £700 and £1,000 per tooth in the UK. That's for proper, custom-made veneers crafted by a ceramist to match your face and your smile - the kind that make people assume you just have naturally perfect teeth.

You've seen the transformations. Those Hollywood smiles, the influencer before-and-afters, the friend who suddenly looks ten years younger and you can't quite figure out why until you realise their teeth are different. That's what porcelain veneers do. They cover what's there with something better.

The per-tooth pricing means a full smile transformation adds up. Six to eight veneers across the front teeth - the ones that show when you smile - runs somewhere between £4,000 and £8,000 at most practices. That's not small change. But then, neither is walking around with a smile you're genuinely proud of.

At UrgentCare Dental, porcelain veneers are £695 per tooth. That includes the consultation, the preparation, and the custom-crafted veneers themselves.

What You're Actually Getting

A porcelain veneer is a thin shell of ceramic that gets bonded to the front of your tooth. Think of it like a contact lens for your teeth - except permanent, and made of material that looks exactly like natural enamel.

The process starts with your teeth being prepared. A thin layer of enamel gets removed - usually less than a millimetre - to make room for the veneer to sit flush. Impressions get taken, or digital scans these days, and those go off to a dental laboratory.

This is where the real craft happens. A ceramist builds each veneer by hand, layering porcelain to match the colour and translucency of natural teeth. They're not just making white shells. They're recreating the subtle variations in shade, the way light passes through enamel, the tiny details that make teeth look like teeth and not like bathroom tiles.

A couple of weeks later, the veneers come back. They get tried in, adjusted if needed, and bonded permanently to your teeth. And that's it. You leave with a different smile.

Why They Cost What They Do

The price reflects skilled work at every stage.

There's the dentist's time and expertise - preparing teeth for veneers without damaging them takes precision. Too aggressive and you've weakened the tooth. Too conservative and the veneer won't fit properly or will look bulky.

There's the laboratory work. Good ceramists are artists. The difference between veneers that look natural and veneers that look like someone glued chiclets to your teeth comes down to their skill. Practices that quote significantly below market rate are often using overseas labs with faster turnaround and less attention to detail.

And there's the materials themselves. Dental porcelain isn't cheap. The stuff that mimics natural teeth convincingly is a far cry from the ceramic in your bathroom.

London practices typically charge more than clinics elsewhere - sometimes significantly. The same quality of work might be £800 per tooth in Manchester and £1,200 in central London. Location matters, but it's not the only thing that matters.

Porcelain vs Composite

You'll see composite veneers offered at lower prices - typically £300-£500 per tooth. Different thing entirely.

Composite veneers are sculpted directly onto your teeth in a single appointment using tooth-coloured resin. No laboratory, no waiting, lower cost. They can look great when done well.

The trade-offs are longevity and aesthetics. Porcelain veneers last 10-15 years, sometimes longer. Composite veneers last 5-7 years before they start looking tired. Porcelain resists staining almost completely. Composite picks up stains over time, especially from coffee and red wine.

For some people, composite is the right choice - faster, cheaper, less commitment. For others, porcelain is worth the extra investment for results that last longer and look better throughout their lifespan.

We've written about the differences between veneers and bonding if you want to dig into that comparison properly.

How Many You Need

A full smile - the teeth that show when you grin - is usually six to eight veneers on the upper arch. Some people do the lower teeth too, which doubles the count, though lower teeth show less when you smile so it's not always necessary.

You don't have to do all of them at once. Some people start with the front four, see how they feel about the result, and add more later. Others want the full transformation in one go.

And sometimes veneers aren't needed on every tooth. If some of your teeth are fine and others aren't, you might combine veneers on the problem teeth with whitening to bring everything else up to match. A good cosmetic dentist will tell you the minimum needed to get the result you want, not try to veneer every tooth in your head.

The Longevity Question

Porcelain veneers aren't forever, but they're close. Ten to fifteen years is typical. Twenty years isn't unusual with good care. Eventually they'll need replacing, but that's a long time to enjoy a smile you love.

What shortens their lifespan is the same stuff that damages natural teeth. Grinding and clenching wears them down. Biting into hard things - ice, pen caps, that thing you do where you open packaging with your teeth - can chip them. Poor oral hygiene lets decay creep in at the margins.

Take care of them and they'll take care of you for a very long time.

The "Turkey Teeth" Question

You've probably seen the stories. People flying abroad for cheap veneers, coming back with complications, ending up spending more to fix problems than they would have spent doing it properly in the first place.

The issue isn't that overseas dentistry is inherently bad. There are excellent dentists everywhere. The issue is that when something goes wrong - and sometimes things go wrong - you're thousands of miles from the person who did the work.

We've written about the real costs of dental work abroad if you want the full picture.

Getting Started

Veneer consultations at UrgentCare Dental are free. You'll find out whether veneers are right for what you're trying to achieve, see what's possible for your specific teeth, and get a clear picture of costs.

If you want to see what a transformation might look like before you even book, you can preview your new smile with a single photo. It's not a commitment - just a glimpse of what's possible.

Those smile transformations you've seen? They're not reserved for celebrities and influencers. They're just what happens when someone decides their teeth have been bothering them long enough and finally does something about it.