Monday, May 4, 2015

Answers to Common Questions About Dental Veneers

Dental Veneers
What are dental veneers?
Dental veneers are paper-thin pieces of porcelain. They are used to replace the damaged enamel on your teeth. These porcelain strips are so incredibly thin that they literally take on some of the aspects of the enamel they are replacing. For example the porcelain veneers are extremely hard, matching the fact that dental enamel is the hardest substance in the body. Dental veneers are also extremely brittle, and like enamel you need to exhibit relative caution with what you bite down on. Dental veneers are extremely natural looking, allowing us to craft the perfect looking tooth by replacing a small portion of your enamel with this porcelain strip.

Do dental veneers work for everyone?
The better way to answer this question is to state that in a tiny percentage of the population there exists conditions that prevent dental veneers from being an ideal solution. However, in the vast majority of the patients we see there are no such issues, and dental veneers are a perfect solution. To determine if you are an excellent candidate for veneers, we will schedule a first consultation and examination. This examination, not only, looks for larger problems that could lead to you not qualifying for dental veneers, but also for smaller challenges that may need to be fixed as they could complicate your dental veneer placements. For most patients, they have no issues, and we can proceed while for others it is typically a small challenge that is easily addressed prior to continuing down the road of attaching the veneers.

How are dental veneers attached?
Once we have determined that you are an excellent candidate for veneers, we will begin the attachment process. To make sure that the veneers are a perfect fit, we will shave away a tiny portion of your enamel. Typically this is a few millimeters. What this does is allow us to place the veneers flush with the rest of your teeth so that you have that smooth, natural look. Next, we will place a temporary veneer on the tooth, using a water-based glue to secure it in place.  This needs to be worn while the dental lab creates your permanent veneer using the impression we have taken of your mouth along with measurements.  This typically takes a week or two so you will need to be careful with what you eat.

When the dental lab is done, you will come back in to have the temporary veneer removed and the permanent veneer bonded in place. We will then fit the veneers, molding and shaping them to be an exact fit for the area of enamel we are replacing. At this time, we will also make sure that the enamel is a perfect match, color-wise, to what you have selected. Once all of this is done, and we have made sure to double check your bite, we will adhere the veneers to the tooth using dental cement.


  >