No matter how much you brush and floss, there are certain dental imperfections that won’t go away. Chips, cracks, gaps, discoloration, and misalignment are “flaws” that require dental treatment to address. Fortunately, Dr. Yarnell offers a one-stop-shop solution for a beautiful smile – veneers! These thin shells of dental-grade porcelain can completely transform your grin into one of your dreams. If you’d like to learn more about this solution, continue reading or give our office a call to schedule a consultation!
Veneers are thin sheaths of dental-grade material (like ceramic or porcelain) designed to fit over the front-facing portion of teeth, hiding any imperfection from view. They’re effective at masking a gapped, misaligned, damaged, or discolored smile. Once in place, they’ll blend seamlessly with your smile and will look virtually indistinguishable from your other teeth! Since each veneer is made separately, this treatment is highly customizable, allowing you to easily restore the appearance of your grin.
Transforming your smile with veneers is a process that can take place over the course of two to three appointments. First, you’ll have a consultation with Dr. Yarnell to discuss your smile goals and receive an oral examination. We’ll make sure you don’t have any lingering oral health problems that need to be addressed before moving forward with your treatment.
Once you’re ready, we’ll begin the process by removing a small amount of enamel from your teeth. This will ensure your veneers are accommodated appropriately and sit flush against your smile. Then, we’ll capture a digital impression and send it off to a dental laboratory for the creation of your veneers. In the meantime, we’ll attach temporary veneers to protect your prepared teeth.
As soon as we receive your permanent veneers from the lab, we’ll call you in to remove your temporaries and replace them. Before permanently cementing them onto the teeth, Dr. Yarnell will closely examine them to ensure they meet our high-quality standards.
Are you thinking about getting veneers? There’s a very good reason why they’re considered one of the most popular cosmetic solutions! Some advantages of this treatment include:
Veneers will eventually need to be replaced, so they are not technically permanent. However, with excellent care, they can last for up to fifteen years before needing replacement, and they are irreversible, so the teeth that receive them will need to wear them for life. To make sure that the veneers fit properly with your teeth, a small amount of enamel will have to be removed from them. This enamel cannot grow back.
The veneers do not harm your teeth and the bonding material used to fix the restoration in place is completely safe. Since the veneer protects the tooth, the removal of enamel does not increase the risk of tooth decay. However, you will still need to brush and floss regularly to prevent cavities from forming underneath your veneers, which will require the restoration to be removed so the infection can be treated. An excellent oral hygiene routine includes brushing twice a day, flossing once, using antibacterial mouthwash, limiting consumption of sugary items, regular dental appointments, and the like. We’ll be happy to discuss proper veneer care at your consultation.
Veneers are made out of stain-resistant materials like porcelain or ceramic, so they are unlikely to develop stains due to frequent exposure to coffee. As such, you can drink coffee without much concern about your veneers developing stains, especially if you practice excellent oral hygiene. However, veneers are not completely stain-proof, so it’s best to only consume dark-colored beverages such as coffee, tea, cola, and red wine in moderation to help your veneers look their best as long as possible.
Since veneers reshape your teeth, they can change the way air flows around them during speech. As such, receiving veneers can give you a temporary lisp that diminishes as you get used to wearing them. It’s not uncommon to have particular difficulty pronouncing the “v” and “s” sounds. As your tongue gets more practice with speaking with veneers, it will compensate for the difference in shape until your speech becomes completely normal again. If you wish to accelerate this process, try reading a favorite book aloud and repeating any troublesome words over and over until you get the hang of them. In some cases, your dentist can adjust the thickness of your veneers in certain areas to help reduce your lisp.
Veneers are designed to make all of your visible teeth match, and you’ll receive the number of veneers appropriate to accomplish that goal. While some people may only need six or eight veneers, others may require as many as ten or twelve. In some cases, a patient may only need a single veneer to cover a cracked or broken tooth.