Cosmetic Dental Veneers

 Cosmetic Dental Veneers, What Are They?

Cosmetic dental veneers are a very thin piece of porcelain that goes on top of or covers the front of an anterior (or front) tooth. It is used for enhancing the appearance of teeth for the most part. For instance, if you have a gap in your front teeth, as the images above show, you can close that gap with cosmetic dental veneers as opposed to orthodontic treatment, which can sometimes be much more expensive and take months to do. They are also used to cover old and severely stained teeth, where regular whitening will not do the trick. They can be used in place of bonding if there is a small chip in your tooth. Basically, you can, with cosmetic dental veneers, shape your teeth the way you want them to look (to some degree or another).

Let me give you my own example. I grew up in a family surrounded by people with “great teeth”, but alas, the “great teeth gene,” apparently, skipped me. The problem was that my teeth were smaller than average, and as a result, showed gaps in my mouth that would have been filled in by the correct size teeth. I didn’t like having gaps in the front of my teeth and thought that they didn’t look great. I hid my smile, didn’t like photographs taken of me, and generally kept my mouth shut. Then one day, I decided to go to the dentist to see if something could be done about it. My first thought was that braces would work, but the doctor I went to informed me that due to the size of my teeth, I may not experience the results I wanted. She went on to explain that, all that would be accomplished was moving my teeth towards each other, which would in turn cause other gaps around my mouth. Then she introduced to me the idea of getting veneers. I had no idea what they were at the time so she took the time to explain it to me and showed me examples of others’ experiences with them. I liked what I saw and scheduled an appointment for to have them done. At the appointment they prepared my teeth (simply removing the part of the enamel that my veneers would be placed on top of), then taking an impression of my teeth (the impression would be sent to the lab to have my cosmetic dental veneers made), and then they did something I was not expecting; they gave me “temporary veneers”. These are a temporary material that look like the veneers they are going to put on my teeth when they come back from the lab. I looked in the mirror and was astounded! I had perfect, natural looking teeth! I was overjoyed! Two weeks later, after the veneers came back from the lab, I came back in. They removed the temporary veneers and placed the permanent porcelain veneers on my teeth. They were perfect. I got the smile I’ve always wanted…in TWO WEEKS! After that, I smiled readily, I laughed more, and I had no problem talking to people. I was no longer worried about how my teeth looked. It was life changing.

But, enough about me! The above is just my own personal example with veneers. They changed the way I handled myself around people…for the better. I know others that have had similar experiences with cosmetic dental veneers as well, like the patient in the photos above.

You’re Interested in Finding Out if Veneers Would Work for You?

If that is the case, you can usually schedule a free consult with the dentist to go over your options. During the consult, ask any question you want, tell them what you are trying to get out of the veneers. Do you want whiter teeth? Do you want your teeth shaped a certain way? Are you trying to close a gap in your teeth? Do you want your canines longer than your two front teeth? These are things to go over when talking with your dentist. The dentist can also help sort out if veneers are the best option, or perhaps you would be better off getting something else done. Either way, consult the dentist. They will help.

Here’s my other article on various cosmetic procedures available in dentistry.

Stay healthy my friends.