Porcelain Veneers 101

If getting from the teeth you have now to the perfect smile that you want means doing something about your misshapen, discoloured, oddly spaced, and inconsistently sized teeth, then a cosmetic dentist near you can offer several options for helping you to achieve your goals. Crowns and veneers can both deal with all those issues in a single step.

For many people, veneers are a more accessible option than dental crowns simply because veneers are less expensive and involve less invasive procedures. This article will introduce veneers and explain the steps to perfecting your smile using these small and ever so thin porcelain shells.

How do porcelain veneers work?

Veneers are thin shells made of porcelain that hide flaws in your teeth. Veneers don’t remove those flaws per se but cover them up so that they aren’t apparent to you in the mirror or to outside observers. In addition to covering flaws, veneers are sized and shaped to redefine the profile and contour of the underlying tooth and tinted to match your clean and healthy natural teeth so as to look completely natural.

What are the steps in getting porcelain veneers?

The first step in getting porcelain veneers in Turlock is to consider your full range of options. Porcelain is the most common material for veneers but many people opt for composite resin veneers instead. Composite veneers offer the advantage of not requiring fabrication by an external dental laboratory. Instead, they can be prepared by your dentist in-house, but they are more prone to staining than porcelain veneers. A third option is prepless veneers that can be placed over your tooth without nearly as much — if any — preparation of the underlying tooth. But that anticipates the third step so let’s not jump ahead.

The second step in getting dental veneers is to test drive some options. In some cases, a dentist in Turlock might place some temporary veneers to wear for a while. In other cases, test driving dental veneers in Copperfield involves preparing a simulation of the end result using specialized imaging technology. You’ll get a glimpse forward at your perfected smile.

The third step in getting porcelain veneers near you is the preparation of your teeth to accommodate the veneers themselves. Thin as veneers are — between 0.3 and 0.7 mm thick — placing them on your teeth will add unwanted bulk and produce an uneven finish. To avoid creating that bulkiness and to ensure a smooth and seamless result, your dentist will remove a thin layer of enamel from your tooth. This removal of enamel is permanent. It means that, going forward, that tooth will always need to be protected by veneers or some other restoration. Once your tooth is prepared, your dentist in Turlock will take impressions and send the information to a dental laboratory where technicians will craft veneers for your teeth. (This assumes that you’ve opted for porcelain veneers.)

The final step in your short journey toward a perfect smile is to return to the dentist’s office, where a dentist near you will dry-fit your veneers to ensure they accomplish your goals and then will bond the veneers to your teeth to eliminate the flaws you targeted together at the outset of your treatment plan.

You’re just four simple steps away from a perfect smile. To get started on that short journey is as easy as getting in touch with a dentist near you to ask for an appointment to discuss your options for porcelain veneers near you.