Dental veneers are another fantastic tool used in Cosmetic Dentistry to help create that perfect smile. Unlike crowns which cover the whole tooth, dental veneers are wafer-thin shells of porcelain which are just bonded to the front of your teeth.

Porcelain itself it a fairly brittle material but the bonding process adds additional strength to a veneer leaving you with a beautiful, durable and completely natural looking tooth. Dental veneers take on the appearance of enamel and provide the means for a truly remarkable cosmetic restoration.

Although porcelain has amazing crushing strength it doesn’t react well to twisting so once you have had a tooth or your teeth veneered you need to avoid foods that will require any kind of gnawing or twisting action.

Dental veneers have a variety of uses with veneers being used as an alternative to tooth whitening, braces, crowns and other cosmetic dentistry techniques. Porcelain veneers can be used to disguise discoloured or chipped teeth, close gabs, straighten teeth, assist with realignment and reshape your smile.

Veneers have a distinct advantage over dental crowns in that there is no requirement for the tooth to be ground down prior to the veneer being bonded to the tooth. In addition, veneers tend to be more aesthetically pleasing providing you with an even more natural appearance.

Given the nature of a veneer, in that it is bonded to the front of your tooth, veneers are only of any use for cosmetic restoration of front teeth.

Getting a veneer is so easy and a great alternative for those hate the dentist chair. An initial visit will involve your cosmetic dentist taking an impression of your teeth and you may require some minor contouring work. The second visit will be purely for the veneer to be bonded into place providing you with an instant and fantastic looking result.

With teeth that are too damaged for a veneer you can use a veneer in conjunction with a crown to obtain a perfect finish.

Dental veneers are basically used for aesthetic purposes so are unlikely to be covered by your dental insurance although you might get some level of discount if you have a dental care plan.

As with most cosmetic dentistry veneers do not come cheap with a single porcelain veneer likely to set you back $700 to $1500 although the lower end of the range is more common. There is an alternative which is a composite veneer which comes with a significantly reduced price tag (around $250) but the material has a shorter lifespan and obviously doesn’t provide you with the same quality result.

Terry Ross
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/cosmetic-dentistry-dental-veneers-56418.html

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Dental veneers are thin customized covers put over the front surface of a tooth. The porcelain they’re made of is remarkably like tooth enamel in the way it behaves with light. They are both semi-translucent. They absorb some light and reflect some, so that they have the same sort of pearly shine and a porcelain dental restoration cannot be distinguished from natural teeth.

Veneers are not placed on back teeth. They’re used for front teeth as a quick way to give you a new smile. If you have any small chips on your teeth, or front teeth that are a bit crooked, or gaps between them that show when you smile, porcelain veneers could be an excellent option for you.

Chips

Large chips might need repair work for your dental health, such as a porcelain filling or crown. But a small chip can simply be covered with a porcelain veneer. Your cosmetic dentist would send information and images of the tooth to a dental lab, where a customized veneer would be shaped exactly right to give the chipped tooth a new front surface.

Crookedness

Extreme crowdedness and crookedness would indicate that all the teeth are out of alignment, which would need orthodontic treatment. Misaligned teeth can cause TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disease), which is a misaligned jaw joint. It has many painful symptoms and needs to be diagnosed and given its own treatment.

But if the crookedness is slight enough it can be covered with one or more porcelain veneers. The teeth would not have to be moved into better alignment. The shiny new porcelain front surface would replace the previous crookedness in your smile.

Gaps

In past years, if a person had gappy teeth, they wore metal braces, but we’re fortunate to live in a world of more choices. If the gaps are not so large as to be throwing your bite out of alignment, they can be treated without moving the teeth. Large gaps, like extreme crowdedness, might need orthodontic work.

However, small gaps are easily and beautifully treated with porcelain veneers. The veneers are placed on teeth each side of the gap, and each veneer is slightly wider than the tooth it covers. Each one extends very slightly across the gap. This is a dramatic and fast way to transform your smile.

Discoloration

Most yellowing and staining can be removed by a tooth whitening procedure. But when a child is given tetracycline while the teeth are developing, that causes deep stains, too deep for a whitening agent to reach. Genetic factors and trauma can also cause deep stains. If you have any such discoloration and tooth whitening agents have not been effective, porcelain veneers are an excellent solution. The veneers would be custom-made to fit exactly over your teeth, replacing the front surfaces and giving you a bright, evenly white smile.

The Procedure

Two visits are needed with two or three weeks in between while the dental lab makes your veneers. In that waiting period, you can have temporary veneers, or not, as you choose.

In the first visit, your cosmetic dentist evaluates, measures, photographs and collects all the information needed for the dental lab to make your veneers. He or she also prepares the teeth surfaces for veneer attachment, by removing a very slight amount of tooth enamel. This makes room for the thin veneers.
In the second visit, the cosmetic dentist attaches the veneers temporarily, so that he can check for fit and comfort. When you are both satisfied, he will bond them permanently to the teeth. They are now part of those teeth and will not fall off. They will need the same regular brushing and flossing that you give your natural teeth.

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I am getting porcelain veneers and am getting temporary veneers on before. I have to keep these temporary ones on for a month. Is this a normal time frame? It seems very long.

It seems a bit long, usually about a week- 10 days or so

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Now, more than ever, people are wanting to improve their smile and their teeth. One way of doing this is by visiting a dentist and learning about cosmetic dental veneers. Every day, more and more dentists are realizing just how cosmetic dental veneers are increasing being demanded by patients. This article will explain just what are the dental cosmetic veneers how and how they can work to improve your smile.

Cosmetic Dental Veneers are custom made for your teeth specifically. They come in different thicknesses, anywhere from a half of millimeter to one millimeter. What is great about cosmetic dental veneers is that they come in a variety of materials such as acrylic, resin, or porcelain; the costs will depend on the type of material you wish to have for your veneers. In Houston, the fee for one porcelain veneer is about 800-1400 dollars.

Cosmetic dental veneers are thin facings like the shell of the enamel. They are placed directly over the front and the top of the tooth. These veneers are see-through, so they blend easily with the existing tooth, creating a look of healthy, real teeth. Many people benefit from cosmetic dental veneers such as those with cracked, crowded, worn, chipped, crooked, or stained teeth. These work particularly well for any person with gum line erosion or gaps in their teeth. Essentially, your teeth should be overall healthy and in good shape and you must still maintain the proper dental hygiene.

Cosmetic dental veneers are permanent, so you should make sure that they are the right procedure for you. People love veneers because they are both resistant to stains and extremely durable at the same time. Generally, you will not have to undergo any type of modifications for several years and can be performed in about three office visits at your dentist. Porcelain veneers typically will last for many years, and the technique has shown remarkable longevity when properly performed.

The first visits generally consist of the initial consultation; the next two visits will consist of preparing your teeth and cementing the veneers; and the final follow-up visit is optional. At the initial consultation visit, the cosmetic dentist will exam your teeth, take x-ray, and propose the treatment plan. At the “prep” visit, the dentist will prepare each tooth, create a tooth impression, and write the order (prescription) so the dental technician can make the veneer exactly to the designed specifications. Finally, at the “cementation” visit, your dentist will try in the veneers and the bond the veneer to the tooth. After that, for about a week or two, you will go through a period of adjustment as you get used to your “new” teeth that have been changed in size and shape. Brush and floss daily. After one or two weeks, you’ll return for a follow-up appointment.

Porcelain veneers are an excellent alternative to crowns in many situations. They provide a much more conservative approach to changing the color, size, or shape of the tooth. Porcelain veneers can hide undesirable defects, such as teeth stained by tetracycline, by an injury, or as a result of a root-canal procedure, and are ideal for masking discolored fillings in front teeth. Patients with spaces between their front teeth or teeth that are chipped or worn may consider porcelain veneers. 

It is important that you discuss all procedures and actions with your dentist, as well as what you should do, for proper maintenance, following the placement of the cosmetic dental veneers.

Minh Nguyen, D.d.s.
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/improving-your-smile-with-cosmetic-dental-veneers-55794.html

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I’d like to know the approximate cost of getting veneers on my front two teeth. Anyone who has had this done before would really help me out. Also, do you like them if you’ve had it done? Thanks a lot. Actually, my front two teeth are misalligned (one to the front, one two the back) I know that this can be a quick, easy way to fix minor imperfections such as this. I am not a huge fan of hard foods, and I really do think it is needed because of the major lack of self esteem it gives me. I am willing to pay out of pocket, the cheaper the better. If there are other options, please list them.

Well, it depends on where you go to have your veneers placed. They can cost as much as a crown which can run from $650 to $1000 a tooth. You need to be careful when you have veneers done because they are fabricated from porcelain which is a fragile material and chips and fracture easily. First I would check around for prices since it is a cosmetic procedure most insurance companies will not pay for this service. Second I would decide is this really necessary.

They aren’t meant for people who like to eat a lot of hard foods such as ice cubes, carrots, corn on the cob(I know corn isn’t hard)apples, sugar daddy’s(they are infamous for pulling veneers and crowns right off the tooth)! All of this foods you use your front teeth to bite off with. I’m a Dental Hygienist/Assistant and I have seen people throw good money away on veneers just because they don’t like that their front teeth don’t look pearly white anymore.They come back in a year or so and have a crack in the veneer.

Once you have them you will always have to have them. They shave your natural tooth down just slightly but after the veneer is cemented on the tooth it will never look the same as it did prior. I would seriously think about having this done. If you have a couple grand to blow then go for it. Other wise it’s only cosmetic and doesn’t improve the strength of the tooth.

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Laser removal allows cosmetic retreatment without additional tooth removal.

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Sometimes those little defects in teeth can become all-consuming. Fears that someone will be staring at your teeth when you smile or laugh may become so large that you try to keep from doing these things in front of people. The reality is that most people may have one or two minor issues with their teeth. Maybe they’re stained, or there are gaps or chips that keep the self-conscious from concentrating on other things. A solution to this is having porcelain veneers placed on the teeth to fix the defects in a dramatic fashion. In addition to stains, gaps and chips, porcelain veneers can fix cracks and uneven shapes. Veneers are thin shells that fit the front of your teeth to give it more strength and a new appearance.

Process

The porcelain veneers process takes two visits to a cosmetic dentist. The first visit includes removing the enamel of the teeth that will receive the veneers. This includes making the surface rough or reshaping the front of the teeth. This will allow the veneers to have the space they need. An impression is then taken of your teeth. This impression is used to custom-make the veneers in a laboratory. This usually takes two weeks. During this two weeks, you will wear temporary veneers until your permanent porcelain veneers are ready, which are then bonded to your teeth during the second visit.

Concerns

Some people who may want veneers have concerns about the loss of their natural enamel during the preparation. While there is some variation between the amount of enamel removed, cosmetic dentists ideally only remove 0.3 to 0.5 mm of enamel. This may be more of a concern to older patients, as our tooth enamel thins as we age. There is a possibility that older patients will have all of their enamel removed in preparation for their porcelain veneers. However, because this enamel is being replaced with a tough veneer, this concern is, or should be, allayed. This is because tooth decay around the veneer does not happen. The bonding used does not allow bacteria to enter the tooth, and the relatively long lifespan of the veneers keeps this problem to an absolute minimum.

Porcelain veneers may last as long as ten years if cared for properly. Studies have shown a retention rate above 90% even after three years. However, if a porcelain veneer is lost, the preparation marks in your teeth will show as a dent in the middle of your tooth. If this happens, the veneer must be replaced quickly, especially if all of your enamel was removed to place it.

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