Dental Veneers Can Improve Your Smile And Self Confidence
There’s nothing more appealing than a healthy, beautiful smile. So if your natural teeth aren’t as you wish, there’s something you can do about it. You can use dental veneers to improve your smile, and at the same time, your confidence.
These days your smile is everything. It affects:
- How you relate to family and friends.
- Your confidence when you attend job interviews or handle clients
- And your whole self esteem when you look into the mirror and see a delightfully white and full set of good sized and well proportioned teeth reflecting back.
Unfortunately, not everyone is endowed with this sort of natural beauty, however hard they aspire to it. But there are methods used by dentists that may help to fulfil your dreams and put the smile you have always wanted on your face.
The most widely used cosmetic treatment to conceal crooked, misaligned or discoloured teeth is the use of dental veneers.
What Are Dental Veneers?
Dental veneers, or as they are sometimes referred to as porcelain veneers, are shells which are wafer-thin and custom-made to suit a recipients tooth.
They are made of aesthetic tooth-coloured materials which are resistant to staining and are designed to conceal any imperfections on the visible surface of your teeth.
Their main role is to enhance the appearance of your teeth while making them look natural.
By choosing dental veneers to improve your smile you can get them fitted on to any number of teeth you choose. They can also be custom made to suit your preferred colour which should match the rest of the teeth.
If you don’t like the shape or size of your teeth, installing dental veneers does a good job at getting your teeth to look how you want them, not how nature wants them to be.
There Are Two Types Of Veneers
Dental veneers are usually made of one of two products and that’s either porcelain or composite resin material.
Porcelain veneers are far better at resisting staining than resin based veneers, while also doing a better job at mimicking the light reflecting characteristics of natural teeth.
They are great for those who want their gleaming, white and straight teeth to be the centre of attention.
When Should You Use Dental Veneers?
When dental veneers are normally used in the following situations:
- To fix discolouration of your teeth that could happen following a root canal procedure.
- Staining caused by the use of tetracycline or some other drugs.
- Overuse of fluoride.
- Excessively worn teeth (this happens over time and is unavoidable).
- Teeth that have chips in them or are broken in places.
- Misaligned teeth or an uneven appearance of the teeth.
- Teeth which have noticeable gaps in between them.
The Procedure For Dental Veneer
Don’t expect your dentist to choose where to fit the dental veneers. You have to decide what improvements you want made to your teeth.
This can happen at your first appointment where your dentist will thoroughly examine your teeth and discuss with you his or her recommendations.
Once you have decided how many veneers you would like and which teeth need veneers your dentist will go ahead and prepare your teeth for the veneers.
1. Preparing Your Teeth
Around 1/2 millimetre of the enamel from each of the tooth’s surface will need to be removed so when the veneer is fixed into place it won’t look bulky compared to adjacent teeth.
Once this has been done your dentist normally makes an impression of the tooth or teeth so that the veneers will match the shape and size of the teeth to be treated.
2. Creating The Veneers
This model or impression is sent to your dentist’s dental laboratory, where the veneer or veneers are made. This process will normally take from between 2 and 4 weeks.
If you were hoping for more immediate changes to the appearance of your teeth, your dentist can fit temporary dental veneers. They will be removed once your permanent dental veneers are ready.
Your new smile is on its way as your dental veneers are now ready to fit.
3. Adjusting Color, Shape, And Fitting
Before your dentist permanently fits your dental veneer to your tooth, he or she will place it temporarily onto your tooth to see how its colour and shape match adjacent teeth.
Some trimming and shaping may be required in order to get the best fit. The colour of the veneer can be adjusted too.
4. Applying The Cement
Following the final matching your dentist will clean your teeth, polish and etch them which by roughening the tooth allows for a stronger bonding process.
A specialist, food quality cement is then painted on to the veneer which is then finally fitted onto your tooth.
Once the veneer is correctly positioned a light beam is focused on it, which serves to activate the chemicals found in the cement. This causes the cement to harden very quickly.
Before your dentist moves onto the next dental veneer any surplus cement will be removed.
5. Adjusting The Position Of The Veneers
It’s important that your dentist checks your bite and makes any final adjustments to the veneer as needed.
You may be asked to return to see your dentist after 2 weeks to ensure the new veneer is fulfilling its function and that it is improving your facial appearance and smile.
That’s it. This is how dental veneers work. If you think you’ll need some in the future save this article for later. It might be helping you understand the entire procedure.
