Lucy from Nelson — 8 Emax Press veneers, smile makeover

Real patient story, shared with permission. This patient has consented to Picasso Dental Clinic publishing their experience to help other New Zealand patients. Treatment, material, NZD price, and timeline are accurate to the case archive. Reviewed by Dr. Emily Nguyen, Founding Clinical Director.

Lucy is 44, a Nelson cafe owner, and the year she contacted us she had just rebranded the cafe — new signage, new menu, new flat-white-and-sunshine identity she was genuinely proud of. The one thing that did not match the refresh was her smile. Years of coffee, a chipped front tooth from a teenage netball injury, and uneven edges meant she covered her mouth in every photo on the cafe’s new social feed. She had been quoted around NZD 2,000 per tooth at a Nelson private clinic for 8 upper veneers — a benchmark range of NZD 12,000 to NZD 20,000 — and decided that was money the business needed more than her teeth did.

She emailed us a set of smile photos over a quiet Sunday at the cafe. We returned a written, itemised NZD quote within 24 hours: 8 Emax Press veneers at NZD 600 per tooth, total NZD 4,800 (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND), with a 7-year warranty.

What she wanted the makeover to actually do

Lucy did not want a Hollywood result. In her words from the post-trip survey: “I run a cafe, not a TV studio. I wanted teeth that looked like mine on a good day, not someone else’s. My biggest fear was walking out with a row of identical white tombstones.”

The pre-trip conversation focused on three things:

• Design intent: a warm, natural shade matched to her skin and the cafe’s relaxed feel — not the brightest tile on the shade guide. We agreed the design would be settled face-to-face in the Portrait Sitting before any tooth was touched.
• Material: Emax Press, layered for translucency at the edges so the veneers catch light the way real enamel does.
• Preparation: conservative enamel reduction. We sent her the Turkey teeth explained page so she could see the difference between a veneer prep and an aggressive crown prep, and why we do not do the latter on healthy teeth.

She closed the cafe for a fortnight in the off-season, lined up a relief manager, and booked the flights.

The 10-day trip

The temporaries phase is what she rated highest in the survey. “Wearing the trial version for a few days was the bit that sold me. I caught my reflection in a shop window on day 4 and actually smiled back. That told me the shape was right before anything was permanent.”

What it cost end-to-end

Against a Nelson benchmark of NZD 12,000 to NZD 20,000 for 8 veneers, the gross saving was NZD 7,200 to NZD 15,200, and the net saving after travel was NZD 3,500 to NZD 11,500.

Because she travelled in the off-season, the trip cost the cafe less in lost trade than a peak-season fortnight would have.

The thing she didn’t expect

In her words: “I assumed the consultation and the design would be rushed because everything was cheaper. It was the opposite. The Portrait Sitting on day 2 ran nearly two hours, and the dentist kept asking me to talk and laugh so she could see how my lip moved over the teeth. I had never had that much attention paid to my smile, even at the quotes back home.”

That kind of feedback is exactly why we run the survey program — it tells us which steps patients value most.

What aftercare looked like back in Nelson

Lucy booked her NZ follow-up before she flew out, so it was confirmed and waiting. Her own dentist in Nelson checked the bite and the margins about three weeks after she got back and signed the case off. We received a copy of the notes for her file.

She has had one 6-monthly check and clean since, with no issues, and the second is scheduled. The chipped netball tooth that started the whole thing is now indistinguishable from the rest.

Lucy’s three pieces of advice

From her survey response:

1. “Go in the off-season if your work lets you. The trip is calmer, the flights are cheaper, and you are not stressing about money you are losing at home while you sit in the chair.”
2. “Bring a photo of your own face from a few years ago, not a celebrity. I showed them an old picture of myself laughing and said ’that, but tidier.’ It gave them something real to design toward.”
3. “Use the temporaries days properly. Talk a lot, eat normally, send selfies to a friend you trust. The whole point is to find anything you want changed while it can still be changed.”

See also

• Smile makeover pillar — the design process, materials, and NZD pricing.
• Veneer care tips — what Lucy was told for keeping the new smile looking right.
• Nelson to Vietnam dental travel page — local benchmark and route logistics.

Request your own free NZD smile makeover quote

About this page

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Emily Nguyen

Founding Clinical Director, Picasso Dental Clinic

DDS · Founder and Clinical Director, Picasso Dental Clinic group

Clinical focus: Cosmetic dentistry · Veneers · Smile design

Dr. Emily Nguyen founded Picasso Dental Clinic in 2013 (originally Serenity International Dental Clinic) and led its 2023 rebrand. She sets clinical standards across the group's six branches in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Lat, and personally reviews cosmetic protocols including the Portrait Sitting workflow for veneers and smile makeovers.

Last clinically reviewed

28 May 2026

Published by

Picasso Dental Clinic

Review policy

Every medical procedure page on this site is reviewed by a named Picasso clinician before publication and re-checked when pricing, materials, or protocols change. Source documents are linked at the bottom of each page.