veneers Frequently Asked questions
Cosmetic Dentistry/ Veneers Q: Do all patients who want cosmetic makeovers get the same kind of teeth?
A: Absolutely not! Each person has a look they want for themselves and they have facial structure and skin tones that guide us in making individual selections that vary in size, shape, and color for each person.
Q: Do I have to get my teeth capped to get rid of spaces between my front teeth?
A: In most cases capping to correct spaces isn't necessary. Today with beautiful, natural looking porcelain veneers (also called porcelain facings) we can easily make dramatic cosmetic changes to remove spaces, fix cracked teeth, do minor tooth straightening, and change the color of your teeth. In many instances, little or no tooth structure needs to be removed to create the smile of your dreams.
Q: How can cosmetic dentistry help improve the appearance of my smile?
A: If you’re feeling somewhat self-conscious about your teeth, or just want to improve your smile, cosmetic dental treatments may be the answer to a more beautiful, confident smile.
Cosmetic dentistry has become very popular in the last several years, not only due the many advances in cosmetic dental procedures and materials available today, but also because patients are becoming more and more focused on improving their overall health. This includes dental prevention and having a healthier, whiter, more radiant smile.
There are many cosmetic dental procedures available to improve your teeth and enhance your smile. Depending on your particular needs, cosmetic dental treatments can change your smile dramatically, from restoring a single tooth to having a full mouth make-over. Ask your dentist how you can improve the health and beauty of your smile with cosmetic dentistry.
Cosmetic Procedures:
Teeth Whitening: Bleaching lightens teeth that have been stained or discolored by age, food, drink, and smoking. Teeth darkened as a result of injury or taking certain medications can also be bleached, but the effectiveness depends on the degree of staining present.
Composite (tooth-colored) Fillings: Also known as “bonding”, composite fillings are now widely used instead of amalgam (silver) fillings to repair teeth with cavities, and also to replace old defective fillings. Tooth-colored fillings are also used to repair chipped, broken, or discolored teeth. This type of filling is also very useful to fill in gaps and to protect sensitive, exposed root surfaces caused by gum recession.
Porcelain Veneers: Veneers are thin custom-made, tooth-colored shells that are bonded onto the fronts of teeth to create a beautiful individual smile. They can help restore or camouflage damaged, discolored, poorly shaped, or misaligned teeth. Unlike crowns, veneers require minimal tooth structure to be removed from the surface of the tooth.
Porcelain Crowns (caps): A crown is a tooth-colored, custom-made covering that encases the entire tooth surface restoring it to its original shape and size. Crowns protect and strengthen teeth that cannot be restored with fillings or other types of restorations. They are ideal for teeth that have large, fractured or broken fillings and also for those that are badly decayed.
Dental Implants: Dental implants are artificial roots that are surgically placed into the jaw to replace one or more missing teeth. Porcelain crowns, bridges, and dentures can be made specifically to fit and attach to implants, giving a patient a strong, stable, and durable solution to removable dental appliances.
Orthodontics: Less visible and more effective brackets and wires are making straightening teeth with orthodontics much more appealing to adult patients. Also, in some cases, teeth may be straightened with custom-made, clear, removable aligners that require no braces.
Thanks to the advances in modern dentistry, cosmetic treatments can make a difference in making your smile shine!
Q: What is Veneer?
A: Veneers is a thin layer of restorative material bonded over the tooth in order to improve the aesthetic look of the tooth or protect damaged tooth. Porcelain veneers are used to make cosmetic changes to discolored, chipped, or misaligned teeth. Basically, two kinds of materials are used in veneer treatments namely composite and porcelain.
Popularly, porcelain veneers are used. They are indirectly fabricated, customized, and properly designed to give you the same shape, size, and color as natural shining tooth.
The composite veneers can be placed directly in the mouth or indirectly made in a dental lab which is later fixed on the tooth. The veneers treatment process will help you gain confidence by having shining teeth and a beautiful smile.
Q: What are porcelain veneers and how can they improve my smile?
A: Porcelain veneers are very thin shells of tooth-shaped porcelain that are individually crafted to cover the fronts of teeth. They are very durable and will not stain, making them a very popular solution for those seeking to restore or enhance the beauty of their smile.
Q: What can veneers be used for?
A: Veneers may be used to restore or correct the following dental conditions:
- Severely discolored or stained teeth
- Unwanted or uneven spaces
- Worn or chipped teeth
- Slight tooth crowding
- Misshapen teeth
- Teeth that are too small or large
- Getting veneers usually requires two visits. Veneers are created from an impression (mold) of your teeth that is then sent to a professional dental laboratory where each veneer is custom-made (for shape and color) for your individual smile.
With little or no anesthesia, teeth are prepared by lightly buffing and shaping the front surface of the teeth to allow for the small thickness of veneers. The veneers are carefully fitted and bonded onto the tooth surface with special bonding cements and occasionally a specialized light may be used to harden and set the bond.
Veneers are an excellent dental treatment that can dramatically improve your teeth and give you a natural, beautiful smile.
Q: How much tooth structure is removed to place the veneers?
A: A thin layer, about 0.5 millimeter, is removed. The layer of tooth structure needs to be removed in order to make room for the porcelain. This allows us to make the teeth the proper contour without them being too bulky or unnatural appearing.
Q: How is the veneer bonded to the tooth?
A: New advances in bonding technology allow us to create an extremely strong bond between your teeth and the veneers. The teeth are first prepared with the bonding material and special resin cement is used as the "glue". The resin cement is available in several different colors to give the best possible result.
Q: How many veneers are used?
A: This depends entirely on the desired result. If there is only one tooth that is discolored or malformed, then a single veneer can be used. To get a more balanced and even looking result it is recommended that several veneers (4 to 8) be done at the same time. This allows us to get the most beautiful result possible.
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