What are porcelain veneers?

Porcelain veneers are an amazing way to change the look and feel of your current smile. With veneers, a dentist can change the color, shape, and length of your front teeth and the final outcome can drastically improve your smile and overall self-confidence. A porcelain veneer is slightly thicker than a contact lense and is bonded to your teeth with cement. Each patient has a unique smile. Some people show more gums, some people show more teeth. It is important that you have a comprehensive exam with a dentist and talk about your different options for enhancing your smile. Most of the time, porcelain veneers are a great option; however, veneers do not work for everyone. Sometimes, a patient's smile can be improved with just some tooth whitening or bleaching; sometimes, a patient needs more comprehensive work like full coverage crowns. Doing a set of veneers is a meticulous process. It can take up to a couple of weeks to complete. The first step is doing a mock up in the patient's mouth. This entails a dentist placing a composite resin material on your teeth in the shape and color of the final veneers. If the patient is happy with the mock up, we would send a mold of your teeth to a dental technician. A dental technician would then custom make the veneers specifically for your teeth. After veneers are fabricated, we remove the mock-ups and permanently cement the veneers on to your teeth. Despite the tremendous upside with veneers, there are some cons. In many cases, a dentist does have to shave down 1mm of tooth structure. That tooth structure is gone forever, so veneers need to be seen permanent. Overall, porcelain veneers are a great treatment option for improving the appearance of your smile. If you have any questions, please contact us through our website at www.FordDentalGroup.com or call us at 714-842-7431.