Veneers
Veneers - Leesburg, VA Dentist
What makes a smile beautiful? That's a complex question, but some qualities of a lovely smile are immediately identifiable: good tooth color, shape and alignment are a few of the most important ones. If your teeth could use improvement in any of these categories, porcelain veneers could be just what you're looking for.
Veneers are natural in appearance and are a perfect option for patients wanting to make minor adjustments to the look and feel of their smile. Veneers are thin, custom-made shells made from tooth-colored materials such as porcelain. They are designed to cover the front side of your teeth.
To prepare for veneers, our Leesburg dentist will create a unique model of your teeth. This model is sent to a dental technician who creates your veneers. Before placing your new veneer, our dentist may need to conservatively prepare your tooth to achieve the desired aesthetic result. When bonded to your teeth, veneers can create a natural-looking, beautiful new surface. That's because dental porcelain, like natural tooth enamel, is translucent and tough. But it doesn't stain like tooth enamel does.
What Dental Issues Can Veneers Correct?
Veneers are an excellent way to redesign and reshape your entire mouth. One of the most significant advantages of porcelain veneers is the fact that they can fix many dental problems at the same time.
Dental veneers can:
- Hide cracks and chips
- Improve tooth color and hide stains and discolorations that are resistant to whitening
- Fix minor spacing and alignment by covering gaps between teeth and making smiles straighter (without braces)
- Improving the overall length and shape of your teeth
- Size and reshape teeth for improved symmetry
- Improve gummy smiles
- Make teeth more durable
Limitations of Porcelain Veneers
There are some situations in which veneers would be inappropriate. For example, if you have significantly misaligned teeth or a large gap, orthodontics might be a more appropriate solution than veneers. And if you have lost a lot of tooth structure from decay or trauma (or a particularly severe grinding habit), it might be better to restore your teeth with porcelain crowns that cover the entire tooth.
Creating a New Smile with Porcelain Veneers
The first step in creating a new smile with porcelain veneers is to communicate exactly what you don't like about your smile as it is now. It's a great idea to bring in pictures of smiles you do like, as a starting point for discussion with our Leesburg, VA dentist. It's possible to see how veneers would look on your teeth in one of several ways. A model of your teeth can be created over which wax “veneers” can be placed; sometimes acrylic (plastic) or tooth-colored filling material can be placed directly onto your teeth to demonstrate the effect veneers would have on them.
Once the plan has been agreed upon, your teeth will be prepared by removing a small amount of enamel, if this step is necessary. Molds of your teeth will be taken and used by a skilled dental laboratory to create your veneers, and you will receive a temporary set of veneers to wear during the few weeks it will take to create your permanent veneers. When the veneers come back from the lab, they will be cemented onto your teeth.
Caring for Your Veneers
Just like the teeth nature gave you, teeth restored with veneers need gentle brushing and flossing every day. This will remove dental plaque and ensure good gum tissue health around the veneers. Regular checkups at your Leesburg, VA dentist office will remain as important as always to your oral and general health. And keep in mind that as tough as veneers are, they may not be able to withstand forces that come from using your teeth as tools (to open packages, for example) or biting into very hard foods like candy apples — which isn't good for your natural teeth, either! And if you grind or clench your teeth at night, you might be advised to get a custom-made nightguard to protect your veneers — and your investment.