FirstFit veneers: Dentistry Live case explores fully guided, same-day workflow

A recent Dentistry Live session with Dr Robbie Hughes and Dr Jameel Gardee walked through a fully guided, same-day veneer workflow using FirstFit veneers, completing a full-arch case from preparation to cementation in a single visit, without temporaries.

The session set out to show how a digitally planned protocol can reduce clinical time while maintaining control at each stage. For context, the clinicians compared it directly to conventional full-arch cases.

‘I think the average time saved per case is around six hours,’ Hughes said. ‘A conventional tooth preparation full arch can be two to three hours. Then you’ve probably got an hour review in the middle with the provisionals.’

Removing temporaries changes everything

The absence of a provisional stage is central to the FirstFit workflow, it benefits both patient and tissue.

‘We know the patients hate temporaries’ Dr Jameel Gardee said, with Hughes jumping in: ‘And the tissues hate temporaries a lot of the time as well.’

Because FirstFit veneers remove the provisional stage entirely, soft tissue condition at the point of bonding is typically better. ‘What you also notice is because the patient hasn’t been in provisionals, the soft tissue is already really healthy and good,’ Hughes said.

Cases are designed and refined digitally through a laboratory portal before the clinical appointment. The speakers noted this reduces the need for chairside changes.

‘Certainly in my hands, and many of the dentists that I speak to, there’s not a lot of refinements that are necessary to be done because we’ve taken our time to do it each stage properly,’ Gardee said.

Despite the digital workflow, both clinicians were clear that clinical judgement and artistic input remain. ‘We’re not losing our artistic flair and our own touch,’ Gardee noted.

When things go wrong

The session also covered how to manage a veneer debonding during guide removal, a practical concern for anyone considering the technique.

‘We would first of all relax, don’t panic. We would just plan to finish the cementation process,’ Hughes said. ‘And then I would just go back to my conventional cementation process and stick that veneer on individually at the end.’

Cementation protocols otherwise follow conventional principles, including thorough interproximal clean-up.

Both clinicians recommended hands-on training before adopting the workflow in practice. ‘My recommendation is join a course. You get the hands-on experience. You understand the workflow end to end, and then you can confidently take that into your clinics.’

The full Dentistry Live session is available on demand, including the complete case walkthrough and cementation sequence.

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