Creating a smile you feel confident sharing can make a huge difference in how you interact with others throughout the day and also how you see yourself.
While practicing good dental hygiene can keep your mouth healthy, everyone is different when it comes to individual tooth shape, color, and potential for dental problems. Because of this, many times, a cosmetic option may be the perfect way to achieve the look and smile desired.
Fortunately, today, you have options when it comes to your teeth and achieving that confident smile, with one of those being the addition of dental veneers.
What Are Dental Veneers?
Dental veneers are thin shells made of porcelain material that are bonded onto the front of a tooth. These veneers serve as cosmetic options for correcting crooked, cracked, chipped, or stained teeth. They also help shape and alter the appearance of teeth and attend to gaps to create a more confident smile. Colors are matched as closely as possible as well.
The procedure for dental veneers is straightforward, starting with a dental exam to determine if you are a good candidate for these cosmetic solutions. From there, your dentist will first remove a thin layer of tooth enamel to ensure an even bonding surface for the veneer.
Once the tooth is prepared, your dentist will adhere the veneer to the surface enamel of the tooth, bonding the two for a long-lasting effect.
5 Signs of a Good Candidate for Dental Veneers
Dental veneers are a great solution for many dental patients today, and signs you may already be a good candidate for them include the following.
1. Good Overall Dental Health
With good overall dental health, options abound for creating your perfect smile, including a quicker decision to include dental veneers in your plan.
This good overall dental health includes a combination of healthy gums and teeth which don’t require any additional oral treatments.
With various dental issues such as excessive tooth decay, gum disease, and such, the tooth’s ability to provide a good surface to adhere a veneer to becomes more limited. Other factors that can challenge veneer adhesion include a history of bruxism, the grinding of teeth at night as you sleep. Also, if your teeth or bite is misaligned, this can put additional strain on the porcelain veneer and may even cause it to crack.
If you do experience any of these dental issues, you can start with restorative dentistry as a first step and then select dental veneers to increase your smile’s appeal afterward.
2. Sufficient Healthy Tooth Enamel
Since dental veneers must adhere to tooth enamel, a good candidate will have sufficient healthy tooth enamel available.
While your dentist will remove a thin layer of this enamel before adhering veneers, the underlying layer must be sufficient to adequately bond them in place. Without it, a veneer will fail to adhere or bond properly, and in turn, will interfere with its overall functionality and durability.
3. Teeth Are Severely Discolored or Stained
Teeth whitening treatments, either in-office by your dentist or with over-the-counter kits, are popular options these days to help you achieve a better smile. While these options do show results in treating both mild and moderate discoloration, darker stains don’t often respond as well.
If this describes you and your teeth, dental veneers can cover those dark stains, whether on the exterior enamel or as a result of internal discoloration due to old fillings or tooth decay.
4. You Require Minor Cosmetic Fixes
Dental veneers can conceal various minor cosmetic issues such as cracks, chips, or a misshapen tooth and provide a quicker solution than crowns or other dental options that require several steps and appointments.
Often, veneers are the best solution for attending to that one tooth or set of teeth that can make a true difference when you smile.
5. You Need to Address Several Cosmetic Issues
Sometimes patients require solutions for several cosmetic issues at the same time. For example, if you have stained, crooked, or misshapen teeth along with one or two of these being chipped or cracked, you can address them all at the same time with matching dental veneers.
Dental veneers can truly make all the difference in your smile. However, to maintain them and continue to experience healthy teeth and gums, you’ll need to practice good oral hygiene, including brushing, flossing, and scheduling regular dental cleanings and exams.
Contact Bateson Dentistry for all Your Dental Veneer Needs
Are you ready to beautifully transform your smile and experience the benefits of dental veneers? If so, contact Dr. Angela Bateson and her team and get started today.
Dr. Bateson will take the time to completely evaluate the health of your teeth and gums, discuss any problems, offer solutions, define cosmetic procedures, and determine if you are already a candidate for porcelain dental veneers. Call our office or go online and schedule an appointment and see how we can help you create that radiant smile.