Reasonable Replicas of Natural Teeth
Correct Your Stained or Misshaped Teeth
If your teeth are stained, shaped, or crooked, call on Taylor Drive Dental Care to improve your situation with veneers! Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or plastic that are cemented over the front of your teeth to alter their color or shape. Veneers can be used on chipped teeth or teeth with uneven surfaces, discolored teeth, oddly shaped teeth, and unevenly spaced or crooked teeth. Little to no anesthesia is required to place your veneers. They have a longer life expectancy and color stability than bonding, and veneers are also highly resistant to permanent staining from coffee, tea, or smoking.
How Veneers Are Made
Veneers are typically made by a dental lab technician using a model provided by your dentist. Veneers are usually irreversible since it is necessary to remove a small portion of enamel from your teeth to fit the shell.Porcelain veneers can be used to mask undesirable defects, such as teeth stained by tetracycline, an injury, or as a result of a root canal. This type of veneer is ideal for masking discolored fillings in front teeth. If you have a gap between your front teeth or teeth that are chipped or worn, porcelain veneers may be a possibility for you.
The Veneer Process
Veneers usually entail a minimum of three appointments: diagnosis and treatment planning, preparation, and bonding. Your tooth preparation visit will typically last one to two hours, and your teeth will be lightly buffed to allow for the added thickness of the veneer. Typically, 0.5 millimeter of your tooth is removed, sometimes requiring a local anesthetic. In the same visit, a mold will be taken of your teeth, which will then be sent to a laboratory for the fabrication of your veneers.At your bonding visit, also lasting about one to two hours, your teeth will be placed on the tooth surface with water or glycerin on your teeth to check the fit and get a sense of the color. While the veneers rest on your teeth, we can adjust them with various shades of cement to match the color of your teeth. To apply the veneer, your tooth will be cleansed with specific chemicals to achieve a bond. Special cement will be sandwiched between the veneer and your tooth, and a visible light beam or laser will cause a catalyst to be released to harden the cement.
You’ll then have a two-week adjustment period, during which you may notice a change in the size and shape of your teeth. It is important that you brush and floss daily. After one to two weeks, you will return to our office for a follow-up appointment. Keep in mind, porcelain veneers are not perfect replacement but reasonable facsimiles of natural teeth. It is not uncommon to see slight variations in the color of porcelain veneers upon close inspection, as this can occur even in natural teeth.
Contact Taylor Drive Dental Care to find out more or to schedule your appointment today!