Comprehensive Understanding of Porcelain Veneers

Are your teeth stained, discolored, chipped, or cracked? Such dental problems can affect the way you look and sometimes lead to loss of confidence. However, with dental restorative and cosmetic options such as veneers, you can improve your smile as well as your bite.

Your dentist bonds the porcelain sheets in front of your teeth, changing their color, shape, and size. Also, if you want a permanent teeth whitening option, porcelain veneers would be a good one since the material is stain-resistant.

Which Dental Problems Do Porcelain Veneers Fix?

You can consider porcelain dental veneers if you have the following:

• Worn-down tooth
• A chipped or cracked tooth
• Irregularly-shaped or misaligned teeth
• Teeth with gaps between them

You might also consider dental veneers if your teeth are discolored due to tetracycline stains, root canal treatments, large-resin fillings, or excessive fluoride.

Porcelain Veneers Placement Procedure

When getting a dental veneer, you will need three visits to your dentist. One appointment involves consultation, while the other two are for making and applying the porcelain veneers. Despite the number of teeth that need porcelain veneers, your Sunset Hills dentist can place all of them in one day.

Examination and Treatment Planning

During the first appointment, your dentist will ask you about the results you want to achieve. The dentist will then proceed by examining your teeth to ensure dental veneers are the best option for you. Also, your dentist can educate you on the limitations of getting porcelain veneers to ensure you make the right decision.

The dentist might take digital x-rays and impressions of your teeth to help in the creation of your veneers.

Preparation

When preparing for your veneers, your dentist will reshape your teeth’s surfaces, which equally amount to the sizes of porcelain veneers you are about to get. During the procedure, your dentist can numb the area or not, depending on your needs.

Next, the dentist will make a model of your teeth and send it to a dental lab to help to create your veneers. The porcelain veneers will take two weeks to come back. Therefore, in the meantime, your dentist will place temporary veneers.

Bonding the Porcelain Veneers

During the third appointment, your dentist will place your porcelain veneers to examine fit and color. The dentist will then trim and reshape the porcelain veneers to ensure they fit, before bonding them. If the shade of your porcelain veneers doesn’t match that of your natural teeth, the dentist can make color adjustments using the bonding material.

Before cementing the veneer into place, the dentist can etch and clean your tooth. Etching will roughen your tooth, thus allows a strong bonding process. Your dentist will then place your porcelain veneers and apply the bonding material. To harden the cementing material, at My STL Dentist, we shine a blue light over it to activate the chemicals.

The final step of the procedure involves removing any excess cement, checking your bite, and making necessary adjustments.

What Is the Lifespan of Porcelain Veneers?

With proper care, your porcelain veneers can last up to 20 years before the need for a replacement. In case your porcelain veneer is damaged, you should get a replacement early since you can be at risk of root canal treatments.

Benefits

Porcelain veneers offer the following benefits:

• Your dentist can choose a shade that matches your natural tooth color, thus enhancing aesthetics
• Gums are tolerant to the porcelain veneers
• Porcelain material is stain resistant hence provides lasting teeth whitening effects
• Do not require much shaping of the teeth

Limitations

Some of the drawbacks of porcelain veneers include:

• Porcelain veneers can not be repaired when damaged
• With veneers, you can still experience tooth decay
• Dental veneers are a good option for people with tooth decay or gum disease
• Porcelain veneers can crack chip, especially if you clench or grind your teeth

Taking Care of Your Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers don’t require any specialized care. However, to maintain the results, you should take care of the porcelain veneers. Below are the ways:

• Brushing at least twice a day
• Flossing once daily
• Regular dental cleanings and examinations
• Avoid smoking or using any tobacco products
• Use protective mouthguards when playing contact sports to prevent cracking or chipping of the porcelain veneers
• Do not clench and grind your teeth or bite down on hard objects