Porcelain veneers are a fast and painless dental treatment process that can revamp patients’ smiles in just a few visits to dentistry practice. Porcelain veneers are applied to the front of natural teeth to cover any cracks, chips, or discoloration on the teeth, providing patients with a beautiful smile. porcelain veneers last many years with simple aftercare techniques and proper oral hygiene. They are an excellent alternative to traditional braces or Invisalign® for some patients.
Am I a candidate for veneers?
Porcelain veneers are a great treatment option for those who want to hide chips, stains, or other imperfection on the enamel of their teeth. They can also be used to improve misaligned teeth or fix a gapped smile. dentists will listen to your goals for your smile during a consultation. From there, they will create a treatment plan that meets your needs. dentists will perform a thorough dental exam to determine your existing oral health. If dentists detect any problem, they must address it before veneers can be considered. Cosmetic dentists will look for signs of gum disease, teeth grinding, or teeth clenching, all of which make most patients ineligible for veneers.
How veneers are placed?
After determining if you’re a candidate for porcelain veneers, dentists will take impressions of your teeth. These impressions will be sent to a dental lab to create your custom veneers, made of high-quality porcelain. A pair of temporary veneers will be placed on your teeth while your permanent ones are custom made. When they’re ready, you will come back to dental office, where dentists will remove a small amount of your enamel to allow your veneers to bond successfully. This also helps offer a more natural finish too. After your veneers are bonded, they can make small adjustments to ensure they fit you well.
Tips For Caring For Your Porcelain Veneers
It is a big step to invest time and money into revamping your smile with porcelain veneers, and once you have taken that step, you will want to protect your investment! Taking care of porcelain veneers is essential to their longevity. here is what you need to know about taking care of porcelain veneers:
Practice Proper Oral Hygiene
In order to keep your veneers looking flawless for many years, the best thing you can do is to practice proper oral hygiene. This will not only prolong the life of your veneers but also keep your mouth healthy. Even though porcelain veneers do not decay there are still parts of the teeth that may be exposed and be at risk for decay. You will need to brush twice a day and floss once in order to keep your veneers in tip-top shape.
Soft Toothbrush and Proper Toothpaste
When you have porcelain veneers you need to make sure that you are using a soft toothbrush when you brush your teeth. Hard-bristled tooth brushes can cause the polish on your veneers to become damaged. Try and stay away of toothpastes that have harsh abrasives as they also can cause damage to your veneers. Ask your dentist to recommend a good toothpaste to use on your veneers.
Prevent Gum Disease
Gum disease has the tendency to cause inflammation in the gums and sometimes cause them to recede. Receding gums have the tendency to expose part of the veneer which could in turn impact the overall appearance of them as well as your smile. Continue to practice proper oral hygiene and see your dentist if your veneers become damaged.
Quit Smoking
Everyone already knows what a bad habit smoking is and it is also bad for your veneers. It can cause your veneers to become stained and discolored. If you want them to look their best then you need to make sure you do not smoke.
Porcelain veneers can make a tremendous improvement to your appearance and confidence. Taking proper care of them will ensure you have them many years. Make sure you visit your dentist regularly to ensure they continue to keep your smile looking bright and beautiful.
Maintenance and Follow-Up Visits
After veneers have been placed, patients are advised to schedule a follow-up visit for polishing the veneers because porcelain veneers should be polished with a specially formulated, non-abrasive paste. dentists can help you get the most out of your dental work by polishing your veneers. This helps keep them clean, bright, and shiny! In addition, regular check-ups after every six months and thorough cleaning and comprehensive examination are often recommended by the dentists. This will give a Cosmetic Dentist an opportunity to anticipate or sort any problems with the veneers and solve potential issues before it happens
When you have porcelain veneers it is important that you do not miss your six-month check-up with your dentist. Your gums and teeth will remain healthy and your veneers can be repaired if need be. Keep your regularly scheduled appointments to prolong the life of your veneers.
Protect veneers from damage
Use common sense and listen to dentist so you can take good care of your porcelain veneers. Here are just some of the guidelines to follow to maintain your oral health and your beautiful smile makeover:
- Nix the bad habits:If you tend to chew on a pencil or your eyeglasses when you’re thinking or nervous, stop. Over time, this unconscious habit can damage your veneers.
- Use the right tools:Teeth are not for opening bottles or packages. Get out the bottle opener or scissors when you need them and save your teeth for biting and chewing your food only. One wrong move and you could chip a veneer.
- Get a mouth guard:People who grind and clench their teeth when sleeping are always more susceptible to dental damage. Enamel will wear down, gum recession is more likely, TMJ problems can develop, and you can hurt your porcelain veneers. A mouth guard can protect your teeth from themselves.
- Wear a sports guard:If you play sports, whether professionally or on an amateur pick-up league protect your teeth. One elbow to the mouth, head-on collision, or unfortunate fall and you could destroy your veneers.
Eating with Temporary Veneers
Eating rules around veneers are slightly more complicated because the application of porcelain veneers happens in two steps. The first phase of the process involves removing about a half of a millimeter worth of enamel from the location where the veneer is to be placed. At this point, an impression of the teeth is created. This is then sent away to a lab to fabricate the long-term veneers. This process takes about two weeks.
However, in the meantime, temporary veneers are put in place. The adhesive for these temporary veneers is not as strong and requires proper care. They are not like the permanent veneers and, as such, are not resistant to staining.
Take extra precautions to care for them. For example, eat everything with a knife and fork, placing the food into the mouth to avoid any type of biting with the front teeth. Because even a small amount of force can dislodge the veneer, it is important to avoid situations where there is any extra force in the teeth.
Avoid eating foods that put veneers at the highest risk. While wearing temporary veneers, avoid the following foods:
- Hard breads
- Red meats or other chewy cuts of meat
- Foods with a lot of color such as red wine, curry, dark fruits, ketchup, colored sodas, coffee, and tomatoes
- Hard food such as nuts and seeds
- Chips
- Hard candy
- Ice
- Sticky candies
- Apples and hard-skinned fruit
Brush your teeth normally without any heavy brushing. Also, you should not floss temporary veneers. The temporaries are connected to each other. It’s not possible to floss them.
Eating with Porcelain Veneers
Once your permanent veneers are in place, there are far fewer restrictions on what you can eat. Caring for them, though important, is also a bit easier than caring for temporaries.
During the first few days, it is essential to be careful with them. Eat softer foods until you can get used to the new veneers. You should also avoid hard foods such as rock candy, ice, and nuts. Some individuals may need to continue special care for a bit longer. Your dental care provider will offer more information on this if it applies to you.
After this time, apply the same rules as you would to normal teeth in terms of how to care for them and protect them. However, you will need to be a bit more cautious and more aware of what you are eating, how you are biting, and how you are cleaning them.
There are some foods you should avoid with porcelain veneers. Again, though the list is fewer, it is still important to avoid these foods to help safeguard your veneers for a longer period of time. Avoid:
- Dark liquids such as tea and coffee; if you do drink them, rinse your mouth or brush immediately afterward
- Highly acidic foods such as lemons or tomatoes; if you do, brush your teeth and rinse your mouth right away
- all alcohol-based mouthwashes; the alcohol can weaken the bonding agent holding the porcelain in place
- Hard foods, such as raw carrots or hard candy; use the back teeth to chew any hard substances instead
- Ice; don’t chew or bite into ice
- Using your teeth as a tool such as to open a package
- Don’t smoke or use chewing tobacco
This list is not exhaustive. It is important for you to consult with your dentist with any questions you have. And, be sure to listen to your dentist’s recommendations throughout the application process and later to maintain your porcelain veneers. Doing so helps you keep them looking beautiful longer and aids in helping the veneers to reach the 20-year lifespan you expect. Consult your dentist with any concerns you have about specific foods or how to care for your veneers properly.