Veneers are ultra-thin, bespoke shells bonded to the anterior side of the front teeth. They are a cosmetic dentistry procedure that enhances tooth appearance by fixing oral issues, like discoloration, cracks, gaps, and chips. These dental problems flaw your smile and reduce your confidence, denying you happiness. The Hawthorne Dentist can eliminate these oral concerns using porcelain veneers, which resemble the size, color, and shape of your teeth, restoring your natural smile and teeth appearance.
Overview of Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are thin, bespoke shells made of porcelain bonded or cemented on the visible side of the front teeth to cover flaws that hamper your smile. The treatment fixes issues like tooth misalignment, tooth discoloration, chipping and cracking, uneven spacing, and worn enamel. The thin piece of porcelain is placed on the visible side of the anterior teeth to cover these flaws and recreate the original tooth appearance. Porcelain veneers have several purposes, but you should consult with your dentist to prescribe the proper treatment depending on your oral needs and expectations.
Porcelain veneers are classified as cosmetic dentistry solutions as they help restore your smile. However, these restorations perform other responsibilities, including strengthening the teeth and offering extra protection to the enamel, preventing many oral problems, and reducing the need for treatment.
Dental veneers are commonly made from composite resin and porcelain. However, many dentists encourage using porcelain material for veneers because the shells made from the material are translucent, enabling restorations to mimic the color of natural teeth.
The shells are made in the dental lab using measurements provided by your cosmetic dentist to ensure they meet the size and shape specifications, depending on your oral needs.
Cosmetic dentistry was not as updated when dental veneers were introduced in the industry. Many people successfully recreated their smiles, although the results failed to resemble those of the original teeth because of the material choices. However, cosmetic dentistry has significantly advanced, with porcelain veneers enabling dentists to recreate smiles that resemble those of natural teeth. At The Hawthorne Dentist, we encourage our patients to go for porcelain veneers, as they refract light and are clear, resulting in a beautiful smile.
Problems You Can Resolve Using Porcelain Veneers
No matter the source of your flawed smile, porcelain veneers can fix most or all of these cosmetic concerns. The common cosmetic dental problems you can address using these types of veneers are:
Worn Enamel
Acid bacteria can significantly erode your enamel over time due to increased or excessive intake of coffee, tea, certain medications, or smoking. The enamel can wear off naturally because of aging or genetic predisposition. Porcelain veneers are an excellent solution to this problem.
Natural Wear and Tear of the Enamel
As you age, the teeth naturally wear down, increasing the risk of cracks, chips, or uneven shape. Porcelain veneers recreate the natural shape and size of the enamel, giving your teeth and smile a youthful appearance.
Stubborn Discoloration
Professional tooth whitening can fix tooth discoloration through yellowing, darkening, or staining. However, the treatment can fail to achieve the desired results if the discoloration is stubborn. Under the circumstances, the best option is to cover the stained sections of the front teeth that are easily visible when you smile. Porcelain veneers conceal the stubborn discoloration to recreate your smile.
Uneven Teeth
Several factors contribute to uneven teeth grinding and natural wear and tear. In addition to impairing your smile, uneven teeth can cause bite problems, affecting your overall health because of difficulties chewing food. Porcelain veneers are fabricated to the desired size and shape of the teeth to fix the unevenness.
Other dental issues you can fix using porcelain veneers are:
- Extremely short teeth
- Diastemia caused by genetic predisposition
Porcelain Veneers Candidacy
Even if you suffer from a dental issue treatable by porcelain veneers, your candidacy for this treatment is not guaranteed. When you are ready to begin the journey to a flawless smile that strengthens your personality and gives you the confidence to face all life challenges, you must consult your cosmetic dental expert for a preliminary consultation. Placement of veneers involves an irreversible procedure, which is the preparation of the teeth for bonding the porcelain shells. Depending on the severity, dentists prefer the least invasive treatment option for various oral conditions. Therefore, if porcelain veneers irreversibly alter the structure of your teeth, which you seek to preserve, your dentist will explore other alternatives.
Besides, you will be forced to explore other options if you are diagnosed with periodontitis or tooth cavities. If you are diagnosed with these conditions, seek treatment before considering a cosmetic procedure.
However, when, after thorough examination, you settle for porcelain veneers to fix your dental problems, the next step is to analyze the details of the treatment process, including preparations and the specifics to resolve your unique oral needs.
The consultation with your dentist involves smile design, where they share various sizes, widths, colors, shapes, and shades of porcelain veneers for you to choose from, depending on their impact on your smile and your expectations. Before the treatment begins, explain your objectives to the dentist so that they can tailor your veneer treatment to achieve these goals.
Once you pick your smile design, the dental expert will explain the treatment plan and your expectations from the procedure.
Expectations During the Initial Consultation
The first visit to the dentist can cause anxiety as you are unaware of what will happen. We have discussed the expectations during the consultation to alleviate the anxiety.
Fill Out the Paperwork
In your initial visit to the dentist, you are expected to complete some forms requiring you to provide your name, address, oral health record, and medical history. You should also consider providing dental insurance information if you are covered under the policy, although insurers rarely offer coverage for cosmetic procedures.
Laying the Foundation
The initial consultation examines your teeth for various oral issues. However, because your procedure is cosmetic, the discussions focus on your objectives and crafting a tailored treatment plan that helps you achieve these goals. Some patients want to safeguard teeth from additional damage, meaning the procedure is not entirely cosmetic, hence the need for a thorough evaluation.
After the dental expert understands your expectations, they will review the health of your oral cavity and teeth to establish if you have oral conditions that could hinder the outcome of the procedure. If you suffer from conditions like decay or gum disease, you will require a complementary procedure before the placement of veneers.
If you have any queries regarding your treatment, this is the time to ask them and receive detailed answers. Your questions must clarify your candidacy for the treatment, the pros and cons of porcelain veneers, the recovery time, the cost of the procedure, financing options to help reduce the financial burden, the success rate of the treatment, and whether they have a gallery for before and after photos of former patients for a deeper insight into the smile recreation to expect.
Expectations During the Porcelain Veneer Procedure
Porcelain veneer treatment is typically completed in two dental appointments spanning over six weeks. These visits are thorough as they involve teeth examination and preparation. Dental clinics offering cosmetic dentistry services have invested in amenities like sedation and audio and visual distraction to reduce anxiety, while dental spas can even provide massages and other additional services tailored to aid you, the dental patient, to remain calm.
The preliminary consultation before the actual procedure is essential because it helps determine if there are underlying oral issues that could require addressing before the actual procedure. Imaging technologies give dental experts and patients a vivid picture of what to expect before and after the treatment using smile design technology. Once the examination and treatment plan is completed, the cosmetic dental expert takes steps to administer the actual treatment.
The procedure undergoes various phases, including:
Administering Local Anesthetic
It is common for people to be stressed or uncomfortable when visiting a dentist because of the pain associated with many dental procedures. However, even though veneers are not highly invasive, your dental professional will administer local anesthetic to keep you comfortable when preparing the teeth where the porcelain shells are to be bonded. The local anesthesia keeps you calm and when fully relaxed, the dentist begins to trim your teeth’s enamel to remove a tiny layer, typically one millimeter, to enable proper attachment of the veneer.
The dentist prepares the teeth using a bur, a portable revolving cutting tool. These devices come in different sizes and shapes and help the dentist to precisely reshape the tooth to the desired size, shape, and width.
Making an Impression of Your Teeth
When you opt for porcelain veneers, your dentist must make an impression of the teeth and send it to a dental lab for the fabrication of veneers. If your clinic has invested in modern technology and has an in-house dental laboratory with trained technicians, the impressions will be done in one visit if your clinic has invested in CAM/CAD technology.
If your impression is sent to an outside lab, you will require temporary restorations to cover the reshaped teeth as you wait for the final restoration. The fabrication in an outside dental lab takes a few weeks, although the waiting time could be shorter if the clinic has an in-house lab. However, you should understand that not all patients require the temporary veneers. If only one or two teeth have been reshaped and only a small enamel layer has been removed, leaving the tooth structure uncompromised, you will not require temporaries.
However, when the teeth have undergone significant reshaping, the teeth could be sensitive to hot or cold substances because of the lost enamel, causing discomfort. Under these circumstances, temporaries are necessary to prevent the tooth sensitivity and allow the usual teeth functionality as you await the final restoration. However, in the first few days of the temporary veneers, you could experience sensitivity, although it will disappear.
Same-day dentistry services are now possible thanks to technological advancement. If your dentist uses CAM/CAD technology, temporaries will not be necessary, as the final restoration will be ready on the same day and bonded.
You should know that when you opt for composite resin veneers, you will avoid this phase. In composite veneer treatment, once the teeth are prepped, the dentist cements composite material on the teeth and hardens it with UV light. If the desired shape and size is not achieved with the application of one layer of the composite material, the dentist will apply multiple layers of the substance until they achieve the desired outcome in terms of shape, size, and width. The last step of a composite resin procedure involves brushing the cement using a bur to recreate the smile you expected.
The Bonding or Cementing Stage
Once the permanent veneers are ready, the dentist will remove the temporary veneers and start fitting the permanent ones. You will undergo thorough evaluation at this phase because the dentist must ensure the final restoration comfortably sits on the front surface of the teeth in question for perfect bonding and to prevent additional flaws on top of those you were attempting to fix. If the veneer does not fit perfectly, the dentist further trims the teeth until they achieve a flawless fit. Additionally, the dentist will ask about the color of the veneers and if you are comfortable with the shade. If you need changes, the expert can change the shade of the cement or adhesive material.
The final step will be to permanently cement the veneers after the optimal fit and shade are achieved. After bonding, the dental expert will harden the cement using a special light to prevent the porcelain veneer from shifting. Before you are allowed to go home, they will check your bite and brush if changes are necessary. Even if this is the last appointment for the procedure, you must conduct a follow-up visit after two weeks to corroborate that the treatment is progressing as envisioned.
Dealing With Sensitivity
It is common to experience sensitivity after a porcelain veneer procedure. However, it should go away within days and the longest it can last is weeks, although this happens rarely and depends on your special circumstances. In addition to tooth sensitivity, other symptoms you could experience include soreness in the gingival tissue and increased salivation. Also, your speech will be affected temporarily as the brain adjusts to the veneers.
When symptoms persist, you should follow up with the dentist. The follow-up visit after the treatment is aimed at identifying and addressing the symptoms that have persisted on top of establishing the progress of the procedure. Therefore, consider talking to your dental hygienist if:
- You are experiencing discomfort or sensitivity after two weeks
- You are feeling pain under the restoration
- You have a malocclusion
- The permanent veneer chips
Tooth sensitivity after a porcelain veneer treatment is expected but it should be brief. You can manage the sensitivity using painkillers. Additionally, avoid anything that exerts tension on the porcelain shell. Dentists also discourage sugary substances and harmful habits like grinding or chewing hard substances, as these could cause more discomfort. Again, you should avoid hot of cold substances that trigger the sensitivity and cause discomfort.
Recovery and Care for the Veneers
Porcelain veneers are durable, as they can last for ten to fifteen years with the right care, like regular dental checkups and proper oral hygiene. Pointers to assist you in preserving your porcelain veneers and enjoying them for a maximum time are:
Maintain Proper Oral Hygiene
Your restorations will last longer if you brush your teeth using fluoride toothpaste at least twice a day for a minimum of two minutes each time. You should also floss your teeth at least once a day. Adopting these healthy oral hygiene habits promotes good dental health because they prevent plaque and tartar formation in the oral cavity, averting many oral issues. When tartar builds up between the teeth and gumline, it increases the risk of gum disease and cavities, which increases the chances of the treatment failing within a short time.
Changing your toothbrush every four months or when you develop an oral infection minimizes the risk of oral infections, which contribute to the failure of dental veneers.
Do Not Utilize Your Teeth to Bite on or Chew Hard Substances
Even though porcelain veneers are durable, they are susceptible to breakage and chipping as they do not have the same strength as natural and healthy teeth. So, you can protect these restorations from fracturing or cracking by staying away from harmful habits that put extreme strain on the teeth, like opening bottles with you teeth or chewing hard substances.
Many dentists will give you a list of foods, beverages, or habits you should avoid or minimize to avoid exerting pressure on your restorations to deter cracking. The beverages your dentist discourages are tea, coffee, and red wine. Not that they will cause the veneers to chip but they stain the veneers, taking away the beautiful smile you worked hard to recreate. If you must use these beverages, brush your teeth thirty minutes after taking them to prevent staining and retain the perfect smile.
Wear a Mouthguard
If you grind or clench your teeth, a mouthguard is recommended to prevent the veneers from chipping. The mouthguard does not only prevent the restoration from chipping; it slows down the wearing down of the enamel and bite issues. Therefore, after placement of the restorations, you should purchase a mouthguard and use it at night.
See Your Dental Professional Frequently
Visit your dental specialist at least two times a year or when you experience abnormal symptoms for examination and professional cleaning. In these appointments, the dentist records your dental health history and risk factors that expose you to dental issues before conducting a thorough examination of the mouth, jaws, teeth, gums, and upper throat. If you have baseline oral concerns that could adversely affect the performance of the veneers, the dentist will remove the restorations and address the underlying dental issue before placing them back.
Besides, the dental cleaning performed during these visits ensures that the plaque your toothbrush could have missed or was unable to remove is removed, averting serious dental problems that stem from plaque accumulation. Dental cleaning also complements the flawless smile recreated by the porcelain veneers.
Porcelain Veneer Cost
When you choose porcelain veneers over direct or indirect composite resin veneers, you must be ready to dig deeper into your pockets, as they are more expensive. The cost of the conventional porcelain veneers ranges from $1,000 to $2,500 and can last for at most fifteen years. Composite veneers are cheaper because you part with $400 to $2,000 per tooth, although they are expensive in the long run because they only last for 60 to 120 months. In the long run, the person that picks porcelain over composite veneers saves money.
The price of porcelain veneers is not fixed. It varies from one clinic to another depending on several factors. The skills, reputation, and experience of your cosmetic dentist will affect the price. Cosmetic dentists with better artistic and technical skills charge more for the same services than their counterparts with little experience and skills. If you go for an experienced professional, you must be willing to part with more money.
Another factor that influences the price of the treatment is location. Prices differ with location, as cosmetic dentists in urban areas charge more than those in remote areas. The overhead costs of operating a clinic in an urban area are high, explaining the high price to cover the costs. Also, most of the clients dentists deal with in urban or metropolitan areas, like celebrities, have money and will be comfortable parting with huge amounts of money for quality cosmetic dentistry services.
Lastly, the cost of your procedure will depend on the affected teeth that require the veneers. The cost provided for porcelain veneers is per tooth. Therefore, the amount you pay depends on the teeth that require restoration.
Do not let price discourage you from seeking treatment. Dentists offer flexible financing options of payment plans that make these services affordable. Speak to your dentist for a fair plan.
Find a Reputable Cosmetic Dentistry Service Near Me
Chipped, cracked, fractured, discolored, misaligned, or crooked teeth can hinder your smile and limit your confidence. Thankfully, you can regain this long-lost confidence by recreating your smile using porcelain veneers. At The Hawthorne Dentist, we have competent cosmetic dentists who will listen to your goals and expectations and help you recreate your dream smile using veneers. Call us at 310-775-2557 for a no-obligation preliminary consultation.
