Porcelain Veneers – St. Albans, VT

How Do Porcelain Veneers Work?

It doesn’t matter if you have multiple imperfections in your smile; porcelain veneers can effectively cover all of them simultaneously. Whether you have permanent stains that whitening cannot seem to remove, you have cosmetic chips and cracks that stick out in your smile, or you have gaps that you’d prefer to cover rather than resolve with orthodontics, porcelain veneers can hide them all! This means you won’t have to complete multiple treatments to make your smile look the way you want it to.

What Does Treatment Entail?

Porcelain veneers are designed to be incredibly thin, making it easy for them to cover existing teeth. Of course, in order for the veneers to sit flush, a small amount of tooth enamel is removed. For this reason, it’s important that you are ready to commit to veneers as tooth enamel that is removed cannot be brought back afterwards. Once we’ve completed your exam, we’ll prepare your teeth, then capture detailed impressions so they can be used to create your restorations. Until then, you’ll wear a temporary veneer/set of veneers so you can get acclimated to your future smile.

After the veneers are created, which takes about two weeks, you’ll come back for your final appointment to have the temporary veneers removed and your permanent restorations placed. We’ll make sure that they look as natural as possible and blend in seamlessly with the rest of your smile.

How Long Will My Veneers Last?

In most cases, you can expect a set of porcelain veneers to last for about 10 years. However, this requires daily maintenance, such as brushing your veneers twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste and flossing in between them, just like you would with natural teeth. It also means making sure that you watch out for foods and beverages that can stain teeth easily (i.e. red wine, dark-colored fruits, coffee, dark teas, mustard and tomato sauce.) Veneers are smoother and less porous than tooth enamel, which makes them less susceptible to staining. With that said, you still need to remain dedicated to oral care and be mindful of the foods you eat to keep them looking natural for as long as possible.

Porcelain Veneers FAQs

It goes without saying that porcelain veneers in St. Albans are one of the most popular cosmetic dental treatments available today. However, because they are considered a permanent treatment, you should be absolutely certain that you want them before going through with the procedure. For this reason, we’ve decided to answer some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about veneers down below.

Does Getting Veneers Hurt?

Typically, your mouth will be numb for the process of prepping your teeth and placing your veneers. This is done by administering a local anesthetic to that area of your mouth. Once the numbness takes effect, you should feel minimal discomfort during your procedure.

However, the more veneers you receive, the more likely you are to experience some minor soreness for a few days following your treatment. Luckily, this can be easily alleviated by taking an over-the-counter pain medication like ibuprofen as directed on the bottle.

What Are the Benefits of Veneers?

The primary advantage of veneers is their incredible versatility. By placing a veneer over a tooth, we can correct virtually all of its cosmetic flaws in just one treatment. When compared to dental crowns, veneers preserve more of your natural tooth structure because less enamel must be removed to make room. Gum tissue tolerates dental porcelain quite well, so there shouldn’t be any soft tissue irritation. Each veneer is custom-made to blend in with your unique smile and appear as natural as possible. Lastly, porcelain is highly resistant to stains, so you should be able to enjoy richly pigmented foods and drinks like coffee, tea, and berries to your heart’s content without worrying about discoloring your smile.

Will Veneers Restrict My Diet?

Unlike metal braces, veneers don’t come with a laundry list of foods you should avoid. Because they are bonded to your natural teeth, you should be able to eat virtually anything you want after having veneers placed. For the first few days after your procedure, you may want to stick to a soft food diet, since your teeth may be sore. After that, you should be able to resume your diet as normal. However, certain foods increase the risk of chipping or breaking your veneers, such as hard breads, ice, caramel apples, hard candy, pumpkin seeds, and popcorn kernels.

Am I a Good Candidate for Veneers?

If you have cosmetic imperfections in your teeth, such as gaps, stains, chips, cracks, or rotated or misshapen teeth, veneers may be just the treatment your smile needs to truly shine. However, if your teeth are severely decayed, or you suffer from gum disease, it’s best that you get those issues treated before getting veneers placed by your dentist in St. Albans.