If you are considering dental veneers, you’ll be happy to know that the process of getting them done is simple and low risk. This is just one of the reasons why dental veneers are among the most popular ways in which people achieve their perfect smile. If you’re looking to straighten your teeth, whiten your teeth or fill in any chips or gaps, veneers might be the ideal solution for you.

What Are Dental Veneers?

Dental veneers are wafer-thin layers of porcelain that are carefully moulded to fit over your teeth, providing a completely seamless, beautifully white covering. For some people, the appeal of dental veneers lies purely in their ability to whiten faded or yellowing teeth. For others, veneers are ideal because they can cover chips and close small gaps between teeth. This cosmetic procedure can also help to smooth teeth that have bulges, craters or uneven edges. Since they are custom-made for each individual set of teeth, dental veneers keep all your teeth at a consistent height and shape. They can even reposition teeth in certain circumstances, creating a truly flawless smile.

There is also such a thing as composite veneers, which are slightly different from typical porcelain veneers. Composite veneers achieve essentially the same thing as porcelain veneers: hiding imperfect teeth with a thin layer of specially moulded material. However, these veneers will stain over time and don’t last as long as their porcelain alternatives. While they are the more affordable option, they will also need replacing. These should not be confused with temporary dental veneers though, which are only meant to stay in place for 7–10 days. Temporary dental veneers are sometimes employed as a way to test-drive regular veneers, or to simply freshen up a smile while the permanent veneers are being made.

How Do You Get Dental Veneers?

Getting porcelain dental veneers fitted will take you a minimum of two sessions at the dentist. The first session will involve an examination of your teeth followed by a standard preparation process. In order to prepare your teeth for the veneers, the dentist will make room on their surface by removing 0.3–0.5mm of enamel. Local anaesthetic may be used for this part of the session, but it isn’t usually necessary. In between the first and second sessions, your teeth may feel a bit rougher than usual. Most of the time, this feeling won’t be notable enough to require temporary dental veneers.

During your second session with the dentist, a sample veneer will be placed on top of one of your teeth so that you can inspect its colour, shape and overall look. Once you are happy with it, the dentist will properly fit the custom dental veneers to your mouth using bonding agents. A third dental session will likely be organised for about a week later, during which the dentist will polish your new veneers and check that they are fitted correctly. In contrast to this three-part process, the installment of composite veneers will probably take only a single session. To make composite veneers, the dentist applies the material directly to your teeth and sculpts them on-site.

How Do You Take Care of Dental Veneers?

One of the great benefits of dental veneers is that they are incredibly easy to maintain. To keep your dental veneers looking and feeling great, all you need to do is brush and floss your teeth regularly. When you have veneers, you should still take all the usual measures for protecting your teeth — whether that be hygienic or otherwise. Dental veneers will last for many years, but they can still chip and break as easily as natural teeth.

What Are The Benefits of Dental Veneers?

Veneers are ideal for those who have imperfect, but not extensively damaged, teeth. This is a particularly flexible and non-invasive cosmetic procedure that allows you to decide which specific teeth you’d like to fix. You can even get partial veneers, which only cover damaged or discoloured areas of a tooth, rather than the tooth in its entirety.

For more information on veneers and dental plans for veneer fittings, contact Abbotsford Dental today.