There are millions of American living with broken teeth, chipped teeth, cracks, and discoloration. These dental issues are cosmetic eyesores and can actually deplete your overall oral health. There’s an option out there to improve your overall health and keep your smile looking great: porcelain veneers. These restorations are durable and natural-looking and can make your smile pop.
I love working with patients to enhance their smile and to improve their overall health through restorative and cosmetic dentistry. One thing I have noticed is that there is a misconception out there about the purpose and use of porcelain veneers. Some of my patients raise their eyebrows when I suggest that veneers might be the best way to improve their smile, and that has to do with our cultural view of veneers. We picture veneers as something only actors or the extremely vain commit to.
First off, there’s is nothing vain about wanting to improve your smile. Studies have shown that a beautiful smile can lead to more professional opportunities and even improve your personal life. And about 98 percent of Americans would change something about their smile. Not only that, but veneers can be placed to actually strengthen teeth that have been damaged. At Newingham Dental Care, we place veneers on patients with breaks, cracks, chips or heavily discolored teeth.
How Veneers Can Change Your Life
Here’s a story that I love telling patients. I have a patient who is a young professional woman with a beautiful personality. When she was younger, she had braces – as many people do. While the treatment straightened her teeth, the brackets actually damaged the enamel on her teeth. Enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies and it protects the inner tissues of the teeth. When the enamel is damaged, it becomes a serious oral health issue because you increase the risk of decay, fractures, chips, cracks, etc.
With this particular patient, she had obvious wear and tear on her front teeth, and she was only in her 20s. She also had smoke for years, a habit that discolored her teeth even more, and of course, put her a higher risk for oral health problems and overall health problems. Before visiting my office, she thankfully had quit smoking and was ready to repair her smile. Like many patients, she was skeptical that I could repair the front teeth and give her back the beautiful smile that she lost so many years ago. In her case, I recommended a full set of veneers to restore her damaged teeth and brighten the smile. When we finished the treatment, she starred in the mirror and was shocked at the outcome. She was in love with her new smile, and of course, I was happy to both restore her mouth and give her a beautiful, healthy smile.
In this patient’s case, the veneers strengthened her teeth and reduced her risk of future problems. In many case, patients with damaged enamel break their teeth to the point that the teeth cannot be repaired. When that happens, we’ll have to restore the area with a bridge or dental implant.
Placing Porcelain Veneers
Veneers can be placed with minimal discomfort and time. We place veneers over the course of two visits – one to prepare the tooth and another to set the permanent restoration. To make sure the veneers fit perfectly to the teeth, we remove a small portion of the enamel – a few millimeters. We can do this under local anesthesia and very gently. Because we remove the enamel to place veneers, we make sure patients fully understand the procedure before we launch any treatment. Once the tooth is prepared, we created a temporary restoration for you to wear while your permanent restoration is being created.
We’ve found that porcelain veneers are the closest thing to natural enamel. Our veneers do not stain with age and can last years if cared for properly. Call us today for an appointment at 248-972-8720.
