Feldspathic vs. E.max Veneers: What’s the Difference?

Veneers are not created equal. We’ve all seen the veneers that are too white or too big for a person’s mouth. They look unnatural, and if you’re in the market for veneers, that is the exact thing you’re looking to avoid. 

The goal is a smile that looks clean and natural, and fits with the rest of your facial features. Achieving this comes down to two things: who makes the veneers and what they’re made of.

There are two common types of veneers that you’ve likely come across: feldspathic veneers and E.max veneers. But what’s the difference? 

Feldspathic veneers are built by hand, one tooth at a time, from thin layers of feldspathic porcelain. This meticulous layering process gives the veneers the depth and translucency of real enamel, making them the most natural looking veneers. E.max veneers, on the other hand, are pressed or milled from lithium disilicate, which is a stronger glass-ceramic. 

So which is the better option? And is stronger necessarily better?

At Grand Central Cosmetic Dentistry, feldspathic porcelain is the material of choice. In this guide we’ll explain why.

What Are Feldspathic Veneers?

Feldspathic veneers are porcelain veneers crafted by a master ceramist who thinly layers porcelain until the veneer matches the depth and translucency of a real tooth. The process begins by mixing feldspathic porcelain powder with liquid. This mixture is then brushed onto a model of the tooth and put into a small kiln, where the heat fuses the powder into solid porcelain. After this, another layer is brushed on and the process is repeated until the veneer has the appearance of natural enamel.

What makes feldspathic veneers look so realistic is that they mimic the way a real tooth gets its color. A real tooth has a warm-colored core of dentin covered by a nearly clear layer of enamel. A layered veneer is built the same way, with warmer-colored porcelain being laid first, followed by more translucent porcelain as you move to the surface. Because of this construction, light passes through the porcelain veneer and reflects back similar to how it does with a real tooth. The subtle depth and tint are baked into the structure of the veneers, giving them their realistic appearance.

This esthetic advantage is recognized in the Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry, which has called feldspathic porcelain the premier esthetic material for custom veneers. Another benefit of feldspathic porcelain veneers is that the layering process allows the veneers to be made very thin. They are often under half a millimeter and can be as thin as 0.3 mm. This means that less of your natural enamel has to be removed from your tooth to accommodate the veneers.

The one thing that dentists may bring up when it comes to feldspathic veneers is that they are not as strong as other veneer ceramics, measuring roughly 60 to 90 megapascals in laboratory bending tests, according to a review in Inside Dental Technology. That number sounds like a problem, but once a veneer is bonded to enamel, they become one structure, which is much stronger than the porcelain on its own. And the reality is that if something generates enough force to break or chip a veneer, it’s better that the veneer breaks than your tooth. We’ll get into that more later.

What Are E.max Veneers?

E.max veneers are made from IPS e.max, which is a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic that’s produced by a company called Ivoclar. You may have heard the name before and even typed into Google “emax veneers” or “e max veneers” wondering what it stood for. The reality? It’s just a brand name.

What matters more than the name is how they’re made, and how the process differs from feldspathic veneers. While feldspathic veneers are layered by hand, an E.max veneer starts its life as a solid piece of ceramic. It’s then either heated up and pressed into a mold of the veneer, or a machine is used to mill the veneer out of a ceramic block.

Either way, it’s one single piece that’s one shade. So then how is it made to look like a tooth?

In order to add the warmth near the gum and the translucency near the edges that you see with a normal tooth, a ceramist paints stains onto the surface of the veneer and then seals it with a glaze. The difference between feldspathic and E.max can be summed up with an analogy: feldspathic veneers are like a stained glass window, while E.max veneers are like a window with a picture painted on it. While E.max veneers have a picture of depth, feldspathic veneers have actual depth. To be fair, for more demanding cases, a ceramist can cut back a pressed E.max veneer and layer ceramic over the front by hand to give the veneer some of the depth it’s otherwise lacking.

The biggest thing that people point out when it comes to E.max is strength. Lithium disilicate measures about 400 megapascals in the same bending tests that we mentioned in the feldspathic veneers section. However, we’ll discuss in a later section why this strength may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. One real benefit of E.max veneers is that they come in more opaque versions, which can block out a dark or tetracycline-stained tooth that might show through a more translucent veneer.

Feldspathic Porcelain vs. E.max: The Key Differences

Feldspathic porcelain vs. E.max comes down to depth versus strength. Feldspathic is layered, which makes it look more natural and esthetically refined. E.max is a stronger material and is pressed or milled. It can also be made opaque to cover a dark or discolored tooth.

Let’s break down lithium disilicate vs. feldspathic porcelain in a table that’s easy to digest:

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Stiffness comparisons are based on published values for enamel in the International Journal of Oral Science. Then the stiffness of ceramics are published in BioMed Research International and Ivoclar’s documentation.

Do E.max Veneers Last Longer Than Feldspathic?

No. E.max veneers don’t last longer than feldspathic by a meaningful margin. In 2025, in the Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry, a meta-analysis was published that covered 29 studies and more than 7,700 veneers. They found that 96.1% of feldspathic veneers and 96.8% of lithium disilicate veneers were still in place at an average of ten years. The difference was too small to be statistically significant.

To further highlight the longevity of feldspathic veneers, a study published in the International Journal of Prosthodontics followed 155 patients for up to 21 years and found that at twenty years, 91% of the feldspathic veneers were still in place.

The one edge E.max had in the meta-analysis was that there were fewer small problems like chips, cracks, and staining at the edges, most of which were able to be simply polished out. However, this is where things get interesting, because a chipped veneer isn’t always a bad thing. You’ll see why in the next section.

Why a Stronger Veneer Is Not Always Better

The enamel of a tooth is a hard, brittle shell that sits on a sturdy core of dentin. On its own, enamel isn’t strong, but combined with dentin it becomes strong. Feldspathic veneers operate the same way. They’re thin, brittle, enamel-like shells that get their strength by being bonded to a tooth. Once bonded to enamel, the veneer and the tooth act as one structure.

Meanwhile, lithium disilicate is four to five times stronger than feldspathic porcelain on its own, which makes it harder to crack.

That strength, however, comes with a catch. Now what happens when you bite on something and the force is enough to chip a tooth? With a feldspathic veneer, the veneer chips. But with E.max veneers, the stronger material can actually cause more damage. Because now when the force goes into the veneer, instead of chipping, it’s transferred into the tooth itself. This can cause serious damage, even fracturing the tooth under the veneer through to the root.

This isn’t just a theory. A 2024 study published in the journal Materials put veneers on extracted front teeth and then loaded them until they failed. Both feldspathic porcelain and E.max gave way at nearly the same force, but the feldspathic veneers mostly chipped and none fractured a root, while two of the four lithium disilicate veneers fractured the tooth down to the root. In real life, this is a rare occurrence. However, the question becomes: if it does happen, what’s better? A chipped veneer that can be polished or replaced, or a fractured root that could mean losing the tooth?

Which Type of Veneer Is Best for You?

If you’re wondering which veneers are the best, the answer really depends on your teeth. The best type of veneers for healthy teeth is feldspathic. They give the most natural result, they can be made extremely thin, and when damaging forces come into play, it’s the veneer that breaks rather than your tooth.

E.max is the better choice for some specific cases: when a tooth is too dark for a feldspathic veneer to cover; when a person grinds or clenches, which puts feldspathic veneers at risk of chipping; or when teeth have too little enamel for feldspathic veneers to bond to.

None of these are things that you can judge in the mirror. There are plenty of times when a patient thinks E.max is the best option for their situation, but it turns out they’re a great candidate for feldspathic. The only way to know is by getting a consultation.

Feldspathic Veneers at Grand Central Cosmetic Dentistry

At Grand Central Cosmetic Dentistry, feldspathic porcelain is the material of choice. We recommend it for every tooth that qualifies for it. During your consultation, Dr. Joseph Kim will take a look at your teeth, determining if there’s a workable starting color and enough healthy enamel for feldspathic porcelain veneers to make sense.

If you qualify, you won’t have to start treatment on faith alone. We offer a complimentary trial smile called PreNew PreView. You can get a more in-depth look into how it works on our Smile Design page. The preview allows you to physically see your new smile in your mouth before treatment begins, so you know what to expect before anything is ever drilled or bonded. You get to look in the mirror with your new smile and then decide, so you can go into treatment with confidence.

When you do decide to move forward with treatment, your veneers will be handcrafted by a master ceramist, one tooth at a time, built layer by layer and designed to fit naturally with your mouth and facial features.

The practice is located on East 40th Street, two blocks from Grand Central. Book your complimentary consultation and wear your new smile before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most natural looking veneers?

Hand-layered feldspathic veneers. The layering process allows a master ceramist to build a depth and translucency into the veneers that reads to the human eye as real enamel.

How long do feldspathic veneers last?

About 96% are still in place after ten years, and 91% at twenty years according to a study published in the International Journal of Prosthodontics. In terms of color and quality, a 2022 study in the journal Materials found that every surviving veneer was still excellent in color and translucency after seven years. If you grind your teeth at night, a night guard can be a great way to protect your veneers and extend their life.

What are the E.max veneers pros and cons?

The pros are strength and the ability to have a more opaque option that hides a dark tooth. The cons are that the veneer is less lifelike, as it’s made in one piece and stained on the surface. And when there are damaging forces, the material is stiffer than the enamel it sits on and therefore can transfer those forces into the tooth itself, potentially leading to fracture.

Is there a difference between porcelain veneers and ceramic veneers?

No. Porcelain is a type of ceramic, so porcelain veneers vs. ceramic veneers is simply a difference of words, used to describe the same thing. That said, dental porcelain usually refers to feldspathic, while E.max is a glass-ceramic. Both can technically be called ceramic veneers, but hand-layered feldspathic porcelain and pressed lithium disilicate have very different properties.