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Posts for tag: veneers

By Dr. Rae
January 30, 2012
Category: Dental Procedures
ArePorcelainVeneersRightForYou

If you are unhappy with your smile or the way some of your teeth appear, porcelain veneers may be the solution to your concerns. They are a fast, effective, and well-proven method for cosmetically enhancing your smile — and a secret that Hollywood and other celebrities have been taking advantage of for years. To help you determine if they are right for you, here are some questions we typically receive.

What is a veneer?

A veneer is a custom made thin “shell” or thin layer of a dental ceramic material (usually porcelain) used to replace the front, visible surface of the tooth. They are artistically and hand-crafted using a precise model of your mouth and teeth to achieve a natural look.

What can they do for me?

Veneers are the optimal choice for correcting small to medium gaps between teeth; slight rotations of teeth causing them to be misaligned; oddly shaped, chipped, or “short” teeth; as well as teeth that are discolored or unevenly colored. However, veneers have their limitations, too. They cannot correct bite issues, poor tooth position, or profile issues. It is also important to note that if you have this procedure, we will typically need to remove a small amount of enamel from your teeth to accommodate the veneer and produce dramatic improvements to your smile.

How long will they last?

While they can vary widely from person to person, porcelain veneers usually last from 7 to 20 years. Factors that impact this timeline include your oral hygiene habits, diet, lifestyle, as well as how well you protect your veneers during sleep and while playing sports.

Have more questions?

Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment. You can also learn more about veneers by reading the Dear Doctor article, “Smile Design Enhanced With Porcelain Veneers.”

While we have gained recognition for our role in creating gorgeous smiles with porcelain veneers, the often overlooked or unknown key contributors in this process are the dental laboratory technicians. These behind-the-scenes artists are the trained professionals in the art of using dental porcelain to hand-craft veneers and crowns into near exact replicas of natural teeth in shine, opacity, translucence and shape.

Through the use of precise molds and excellent communication skills, we share detailed information with the laboratory technician to create veneers or crowns specifically for enhancing and improving your smile. In fact, communication must be so exact that it often demands correct lighting, cameras and computers to produce optimal results. This process also requires a variety of colors, shapes and translucency, created so that once we cement them into place, they appear as beautiful natural teeth. If your veneers are part of a smile restoration or makeover and you are getting them for several front teeth, the end results are typically brighter and whiter than your natural teeth. However, they must blend with surrounding teeth if those teeth are not also receiving veneers. So it is often recommended to have your natural teeth whitened before the veneers are replaced.

Good dental porcelains in the right hands can make for spectacular tooth imitations by mimicking tooth enamel perfectly. And now that you have these facts, you begin to understand all of the expertise, artistry, and the technology required by laboratory technicians to produce the most dazzling porcelain veneers.

To learn more about porcelain veneers, continue reading the Dear Doctor article, “Smile Design Enhanced With Porcelain Veneers.” Or if you are ready to see what cosmetic dentistry can do for you, contact us to schedule a consultation.



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