There are many dental procedures designed to address many types of oral conditions. Our society’s dental science has advanced so much in the last few decades that we now have a state-of-the-art solution for just about any dental condition. The key here is matching up each patient’s dental situation with the right dental process to address that situation.
Your dentist will know which process is best for you and your family, but it’s best for patients to have an understanding of the various methods of dental health. For you or a family member or a loved one who has a tooth or teeth which have chips, stains, or gaps, you might want to consider dental veneers.
Most people think that they are stuck with the teeth that they have, that their teeth are just the way they are and that is how they are always going to be. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Access to dental veneers allows dental patients to avail themselves of affordable and aesthetic cosmetic dentistry that literally covers up stains, gaps, chips, deformities, or any other type of cosmetic issue that one might have with their teeth and gums.
How Do Dental Veneers Work?
Dental veneers are easily one of the most simple and affordable cosmetic dental procedures available today. WebMD defines dental veneers as:
- “Dental veneers (sometimes called porcelain veneers or dental porcelain laminates) are wafer-thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of teeth to improve your appearance. These shells are bonded to the front of the teeth, changing their color, shape, size, or length.”
The concept behind veneers is simple, as is their application. A veneer is simply a thin piece of porcelain that is overlaid on the front of the teeth. The veneers are clean, crisp, bright white and free of blemishes, cracks, stains, deformities, etc. Veneers are custom-molded and built to contour perfectly to the patient’s natural gum line and mouth shape. Veneers are the perfect solution to creating an aesthetic visage for one’s mouth and teeth without having to resort to a more extensive or complicated process, such as dental crowns, braces, bridges, etc.
Veneers can be made out of several different types of materials, but porcelain veneers are the most common. These beautiful little works of art can last for ten to twenty years if their owner takes good care of them.
The Simplicity of Getting Dental Veneers at Your Family's Dental Office
Having the option of dental veneers gives families an entirely new approach to dental cosmetology. Dental veneers are a rapid, simple process by which patients of all ages and dental conditions can receive a cosmetic “facelift” in their smile so to speak. Here is how a dental veneer process would pan out:
- First, your dentist will perform a basic dental cleaning process, effectively sprucing up the mouth, teeth, and gums so that the teeth themselves will be prepped for the installation of veneers, and so that there will be no bacteria or detritus within the mouth which might hamper the installation process.
- Next up, your dentist will determine the correct shade of the veneer, to match other, healthy and stain-free teeth in your mouth.
- The next step is for your dentist to remove a small amount of tooth enamel from each tooth which is receiving a veneer. Veneers are thin, but they do have some depth to them, and to allow them to line up with the rest of the teeth in the mouth and look natural, it’s important for a small amount of enamel to be removed so the veneered teeth and the non-veneered teeth can line up well.
- Once the tooth or teeth are fully prepared for the veneer, an impression of the tooth or teeth is taken, creating a mold of what the veneer will be shaped as. Next, that mold is used to fashion the veneers themselves. The veneers are made at a special dental laboratory, using specific technology for porcelain veneer-making.
- Once the veneers are ready, your dentist will install them with a special adhesive cement, firmly affixing the veneer to your tooth. Then, a special light is shone on the veneer, to rapidly cure the cement adhesive between the veneer and the tooth.
- A final check-over is done of the tooth and veneer, any excess cement is removed, and the veneer is polished. Voila, a brand new tooth, cosmetically perfect and functional, all in one!
If you are interested in improving the cosmetic appeal of your mouth and teeth or are interested in doing so for one of your family members or loved ones, dental veneers might be the right solution. Talk to your family’s dentist about it, and see if this is the right route for you.
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