Dental veneers are thin pieces of porcelain bonded to the surface of flawed teeth to hide all those flaws and project the profile of a perfectly coloured, shaped, sized and spaced tooth. If you’re dissatisfied with the characteristics of your teeth, veneers may be the ideal solution for putting those flaws behind you — and out of sight. Veneers can solve flaws with teeth that include:
- Misshapen or inconsistently shaped teeth
- Cracked and chipped teeth
- Teeth that are inconsistent in length or width
- Unusual or inconsistent gaps between teeth
- Stains or discolourations that can not be removed by whitening or bleaching (such as discolouration caused by infections, medications or injury)
Dentists use porcelain veneers in St. Albert to target specific flaws on single teeth or full sets of veneers on the front teeth in your “smile zone” or “social zone” to completely transform, renew and perfect your smile and appearance.
What is the Process Of Getting Veneers?
While no two patients are the same, the process of getting dental veneers has a lot of common elements in every case. The steps in getting porcelain veneers near you are as follows:
Step One: After confirming your teeth and gums are healthy enough that you’re a good candidate for porcelain veneers, our dentist in St. Albert will remove a thin layer of the enamel from the teeth being covered. Removing that enamel will allow our dentist to place the veneer flush and securely against your tooth without adding any bulk or obvious edges to the surface of your tooth.
Step Two: Our dentist near you will then take impressions of your teeth and send those impressions to a dental laboratory where technicians will craft your veneers out of porcelain to fit your teeth precisely and accomplish your cosmetic goals exactly. Our dentist will also tell the technicians exactly what colour to make your veneers. You and our dentist will choose the colour to match your clean and healthy teeth exactly and to blend with your gums, lips and skin tone gradually. Flawless teeth aren’t flawless if they look like fake teeth because they’re too white or too yellow. Our dentist in St. Albert will use a colour guide and appropriate lighting to choose the right colour for you.
Step Three: When the laboratory technicians have prepared and sent your veneers to our dentist, our dentist’s office will schedule your final appointment to place your veneers. First, our dentist will temporarily place the veneers in a position to confirm that they fit properly and accomplish the goals you identified at the outset. Once the fit and effectiveness of your veneers are confirmed, they will be bonded to your teeth permanently, then polished to match the sheen of your teeth. Once that’s done, you won’t notice the flaws that used to taint your teeth, and you won’t notice your veneers — all you and anyone will notice are your perfect teeth and your perfect smile.
If you maintain them carefully, you can expect your porcelain veneers to last a decade or more, even 20 years. You must take care of your natural teeth and gums to maintain your veneers and prolong your lifespan. Anything that affects the health of the underlying and neighbouring teeth and gums will affect the tooth’s structural integrity under your veneer.
The other way to prolong the life of your veneers is to avoid some bad habits that can put veneers at risk. Don’t chew your fingernails, chew ice, bite pencils, grind your teeth or clench your jaw, or use your teeth as if they were a set of pliers or scissors.
Are you ready to say goodbye to the flaws tainting the appearance of your teeth? Contact our dental surgeon near you to confirm that porcelain veneers are right for you.