Your smile is one of your most important features. If you have good teeth then it gives you the confidence to smile broadly more often. For this reason, it makes sense to ensure that your teeth look as great as possible. Dental veneers can help you to do this. They are relatively simple to apply and can make a big difference to the appearance of your smile.
What are dental veneers?
Dental veneers can be made of either porcelain or a composite material. In most cases porcelain is used. The piece of porcelain is a thin layer that is attached to the surface of a tooth. The veneer covers the entire surface of the front of the tooth and is wider where it’s intended to cover an imperfection such as a chip.
When are veneers used?
Veneers are used to improve the appearance of teeth. There are several different circumstances when this could be a good solution:
- If the teeth have become worn down.
- If the teeth are chipped.
- If there is a misalignment of teeth or if the teeth themselves are misshapen.
- If there are small gaps between the teeth. When the problem is not severe, veneers can be an alternative to orthodontic work such as the fitting of braces.
One of the biggest advantages of veneers is that little or no preparation of the tooth is required in order to fit the veneer.
The process of fitting veneers
It’s important that the teeth remain the same size after the veneers are fitted. Therefore, in some cases it’s necessary to remove a small amount of enamel from the teeth before the veneers are fitted. Only a tiny amount is ever removed and sometimes it’s not necessary to remove any enamel at all. Local anaesthetic can be used during this preparation process. However, this is often not necessary.
Once the preparation of the teeth has been completed, an impression is taken. The resulting mould is given to a dental technician so that the veneers can be made. A shade guide is used to match the colour of the veneers to the colour of the surrounding teeth.
The veneer fitting process requires at least two visits to the dentist. During the first visit, the teeth are prepared and an impression is taken. During the second visit, the veneer is fitted to the tooth. If you have veneers fitted, before they are bonded to your teeth, you will be shown what they look like in your mouth. This helps you ensure you are satisfied with the look of the veneers before they are fitted permanently.
It’s not usually necessary to have temporary veneers fitted between visits. This is because the changes made to the teeth tend to be limited and their appearance remain much the same, except that they may be less smooth. This difference is not generally particularly noticeable.
Veneers are simple to fit and they can have a significantly positive impact on your smile. If they seem like a good option for you, why not contact your dental clinic to book a consultation
