Dental Veneers
What Are Dental Veneers?
What are dental veneers actually? Dental veneers or dental laminate veneer are wafer-thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of teeth to improve dental appearance. Sometimes called porcelain veneers or dental porcelain laminates, these outer case shells are bonded to the front of the teeth like a façade that will change what you see by color, shape, size, or length.
What Are The Benefits Of Dental Veneers?
What are the benefits of dental veneers or dental laminate veneer? Dental veneers can repair the following teeth problems. The benefits of dental veneers include the following:
Teeth that have become discolored due to a root canal treatment: stains from drugs such as tetracycline, excessive fluoride use or other causes or the presence of large resin filling that have discolored the tooth.
- Teeth that are worn down.
- Teeth that are chipped or broken.
- Teeth that are misaligned, uneven, or irregularly shaped.
- Teeth with gaps between them (to close the space between these teeth)
Are Dental Veneers Permanent?
Dental veneers can last 7 to 10 years and would need to be replaced accordingly. Dental veneers are permanent in a sense that you cannot go back to your old or natural teeth as your teeth through the dental veneer process has been trimmed.
What Are The Different Types of Dental Veneers?
What types of dental veneers are there? There are two main types of dental veneers: composite and porcelain.
Composite Veneers: Composite veneers are much cheaper and are made right on the premises by the dentist, and applied directly to the teeth. A single appointment is all that’s needed for this procedure, and can bring back the smile you’ve always wanted within one treatment.
The benefits of composite veneers are that several veneers can be applied in a single visit; composite veneers are less expensive than porcelain; and composite veneers are easier to repair.
Porcelain Veneers: Porcelain veneers serve the same purpose as composite veneers. However, they are made in a laboratory. Porcelain veneers are a little like false nails in that they are made to measure and cemented onto the tooth surface.
The benefits of porcelain veneers include; porcelain veneers are more closure to your natural teeth in terms of brightness and translucency; porcelain veneers are longer lasting than composite veneers; porcelain veneers do not change color over time.
The full procedure requires two appointments: one to prepare the tooth and take the impression that will serve to make the veneer in the lab; and a second to cement the veneer onto the tooth.
Which Different Types Of Dental Veneers Is Right For You?
Both veneer types offer the same benefits of a more attractive smile while preserving healthy teeth and a uniform smile in terms of tooth color and shape.
Dental Crown Or Veneer?
What is the difference between a dental crown or dental veneer. The easies way to explain the difference is that a dental crown is a dental device that is used to cover the whole tooth to change or hide the appearance of your current tooth.
A dental veneer on the other hand is used to cover just the front of your teeth to change or hide the appearance of your current tooth.
What Is The Dental Veneer Procedure?
The dental veneer process requires at a minimum 3 trips to the dentist. The first trip would be for the initial consultation; the second to make the veneers; and the third to cement the veneers in place.
Initial Consultation, Diagnosis And Treatment Planning. This first step is to really define your personal goals and expectations. During the diagnosis, your teeth will be examined and to make sure dental veneers are appropriate for you and discuss what the procedure will involve and some of its limitations.
Your dentist should you decide to proceed will take x-rays and possibly make impressions of your mouth and teeth.
To prepare a tooth for a veneer, your dentist will remove about 1/2 millimeter of dental enamel from the tooth surface of your teeth. This thickness is an amount nearly equal to the thickness of the veneer to be added to the tooth surface.
Before your teeth are trimmed, you will be given a local anesthetic to numb the area that is being trimmed. Next, your dentist will take an impression of your tooth.
This impression will be sent out to a dental laboratory, which in turn will fabricate your veneer. This process will take approximately 2-4 weeks. For very unsightly teeth, temporary dental veneers can be placed.
Bonding. Before the dental veneer is permanently cemented to your tooth, your dentist will temporarily place it on your tooth to examine its fit and shade to match your color. Your dentist will remove and trim the dental veneers so there is a proper fit. If the shade of the veneer does not match or is not to your likening, this is the time to have it sent back to the labs so the color or even fit can be adjusted.
In preparation for having your dental veneers glued permanently to your tooth, your tooth will be cleaned, polished, and etched. Etching roughens the tooth to allow for a strong bonding process. A special cement is applied to the veneer and the veneer is then placed on your tooth.
Once properly position on the tooth, your dentist will apply a special light beam to the dental veneer, which activates chemicals in the cement, causing it to harden or cure very quickly.
The final steps involve removing any excess cement, evaluating your bite and making any final adjustments in the dental veneer as necessary. Your dentist may ask you to return for a follow-up visit in a couple of weeks to check how your gums are responding to the presence of your veneer and to once again examine the veneer’s placement.