Greeting someone with a pleasant, open smile can go a long way to making that all-important first impression. However, it is not so easy if you have one or more teeth with minor imperfections and feel self-conscious about your teeth. This is when porcelain veneers in Newcastle can help, perfecting and enhancing your smile, so it looks its best.
What Is a Dental Veneer?
A dental veneer in Clarington is a very thin shell of porcelain bonded onto a tooth’s front surface. It covers the entire front surface, including the biting or incisal edge, and may wrap around the sides of the tooth. A porcelain veneer does not cover the tooth’s inner surface nearest to your tongue.
Porcelain veneers are very popular but are a permanent treatment, so it’s important to consider all the pros and cons before deciding to have this procedure.
Pros
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Brighten Your Smile Easily
Over time, your smile will begin to discolour, especially if you like eating highly coloured foods, drinking a lot of coffee or tea or smoking. These problems cause surface discolorations, but sometimes the staining is internal, for example, if you have an older root canal treatment and dental veneers offer a permanent solution. Porcelain veneers are stain resistant and will not discolour, so they can be an excellent treatment for teeth that do not respond to an ordinary teeth whitening treatment or have other cosmetic problems.
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Fixing Cosmetic Problems
It’s not unusual to see teeth with small chips or cracks in them or unsightly gaps between them. Sometimes teeth aren’t quite the right size or shape or are too small or worn down. Porcelain veneers can fix all these problems, enhancing the appearance of your teeth. Some people have teeth that are slightly out of alignment, and occasionally it may be possible to fix this problem with porcelain veneers. However, we might also suggest Invisalign in Courtice as an alternative, which can straighten teeth effectively. Invisalign can be a good solution if these teeth are generally nicely shaped and just need to be brought back into line.
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Restoring Damaged Tooth Enamel
Some people have thin tooth enamel, which may have become worn down by overzealous toothbrushing or from eating too many highly acidic foods. Porcelain veneers can protect worn tooth enamel, preventing further erosion.
Cons
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Cost
Initially, porcelain veneers can be quite expensive to make and fit compared with other treatments, such as teeth whitening. As they are a cosmetic dental treatment, they are not normally covered by dental insurance. However, with the right ongoing dental care, they can last for ten years or longer before they need replacing.
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Treatment is Irreversible
Preparing teeth for porcelain veneers usually means removing a small amount of tooth enamel from the tooth’s front surface. This is necessary to create enough room for the porcelain veneer and to ensure it doesn’t feel too big and bulky. However, if our dentist does need to remove some tooth structure, this process is irreversible, as tooth enamel will not grow back. You will need to budget to replace your veneers as they age.
How to Decide If Veneers Are the Right Treatment for You?
If you are interested in having veneers, it’s best to make an appointment to see our dentist here at West Bowmanville Family Dental. We can examine your teeth, determine if you are suitable for treatment, as you need teeth that are generally strong and healthy, and discuss the pros and cons in more detail. Once you know more about porcelain veneers, you can make an informed choice about your treatment.