What are Porcelain Veneers?

When regular hygiene is not enough, cosmetic dental work has many options for people who want the best-looking set of teeth they can get. Modern dental technology caters to the diverse needs of patients with all degrees of dental appearance. From orthodontics to bleaching, to crowns, bridges, and dentures, there are options for people at any stage of their life and within a wide budget range. One popular way to improve the appearance of your teeth is by using porcelain veneers. After removing a thin layer of enamel, dentists can bond porcelain veneers to the front of existing teeth using firm concrete material. They can dramatically improve the appearance of malformed or poorly coloured teeth. Porcelain veneers are one of many options that can improve your smile.

Porcelain veneers, also known as laminates, laminate veneers, and composite restorations, appeared a few years after composite resin veneers in the mid 1980s. With advances in technology that have made porcelain veneers more painless, inexpensive, smooth, and attractive. Mass television media has given plenty of Hollywood hype to the procedure. Some “makeover” programs have made extreme veneer cases where an entire front set of teeth is covered in veneers. Dental patients tend to imitate what they see on TV and ignore the facts that dentists present to them. Porcelain veneers specialist Dr. Gordon J. Christensen, DDS, MSD, PhD, alerts us in a 2006 article that “overtreatment with ceramic veneers is at an all-time high.” Besides, too much artificial work becomes obvious and frankly quite ugly. Therefore, it is important to be educated about the facts on porcelain veneers. Your dentist is the single best source of information for the costs and benefits of getting veneers or, for that matter, any other dental work done. He can not only explain to you all the options out there, but see personally the best match for your individual circumstances. Here we cover some basic information about dental veneers in general, and porcelain veneers in particular.

Veneers are one solution to discoloured teeth. They are made of a material that imitates your ideal tooth colour, and are matched to the shade of white your existing teeth have. Veneers are also used to treat worn-down teeth. They are shaped according to not only the existing tooth or teeth that need to be improved, but also the surrounding teeth that contribute to the bone alignment and bite that your dental context requires. If you have chipped or broken teeth, a veneer can make a positive contribution to the appearance or bite geometry of your teeth. Patients with poor tooth alignment or wide spacing traditionally go for some sort of orthodontic procedure, but veneers can be a quicker fix, though not as long-lasting. Veneers can improve the appearance of irregularly shaped teeth as well.

Because the colour of veneers will never change, it is a good idea to meet whatever whitening goals you have before having dental veneers set in. Also, wait two weeks, or at least a few days after an intensive whitening procedure before assessing your teeth for veneers, so the colour will be relatively stable for the long haul.