How do veneers work?

Nobody is naturally blessed with a Hollywood smile, because even the celebrities who boast them didn’t come across them by grace of good genetics. It’s just natural and simple biology, our teeth were made for function and form and that’s what they do. Stars like Demi Moore and Tom Cruise received cosmetic dental treatment, for example, with Moore even wearing a denture for some time due to losing her front teeth. Cosmetic dentistry provides the results that A-Listers want us to think they were born and blessed with, so sometimes we need a little helping hand from the professionals to give us the smile we really want. Let’s explore how veneers work and how they improve a smile.

The veneers treatment process

Dental veneers are thin tooth-shaped covers that fit over the surface of your natural teeth and are fixed in place with a strong dental adhesive. We use both dental composite and porcelain, depending on your needs, for their natural appearance and superior strength. We’ll examine your mouth before we consider fitting veneers just to make sure you’re suitable to receive them. This means we’ll check for signs of gum disease or other factors that might hinder your treatment before beginning, and once we’re happy we’ll begin planning your treatment! We’ll take dental impressions to use as a template for your custom-made veneers, and then prepare your teeth. A thin layer of enamel will need to be ‘trimmed’ from your teeth to make them the right size for veneers, but this is normal.

What are veneers used for?

Discoloured teeth that are dull, yellowish, or browning benefit from veneers because we can colour-match your cosmetic dentistry to your natural teeth. Tooth discolouration occurs through the use of some medications, ageing, and lifestyle habits, and sometimes teeth whitening treatment don’t penetrate as deeply as you need. This often the case for those patients who suffer with a ‘dead tooth’, which occurs when the tooth stops receiving blood flow and nerve signals. It turns a brown or grey colour, often beginning at the gum line and blending downwards. In this case, traditional whitening methods may not work, so a veneer will help camouflage the affected teeth into your natural smile.

• Repairing chipped teeth

Another capability well within the reach of composite and veneers. Whether through trauma, injury, or complete accident, a chipped tooth really hinders our smiles. They might not be medically problematic, though often sensitive to eating and biting, but they can make you feel self-conscious. A dental veneer will attach to the top of the tooth and mask the parts of it that are missing, creating the appearance of a whole tooth. On the other hand, dental composite can also be used to build this tooth back into a whole, filling the chipped area.

• The shape of the teeth

This may not have formed how we’d like them. For example, a common misshapen tooth that veneers mask is a ‘peg tooth’. Occurring mostly in the lateral incisors (those are the teeth neighbouring your two front upper teeth), they’re pointy and malformed and abnormal in size. They can be naturally too short or too small depending on how they develop, but veneers can help this.

• Improving gaps

Repairing gaps in our teeth is another great benefit of veneers if something about teeth straightening and braces don’t appeal to you. Teeth don’t always and naturally occur in even sizes, meaning sometimes we have gaps between them that we’d rather not. Even if you don’t have irregularly aligned teeth, gaps and spaces may still be present that you just can’t help. Veneers made to a uniform size, or the careful placement of dental composite, solve these problems by creating a more uniform smile, covering the gaps while maintain a natural appearance.

Veneers are a great part of the cosmetic dentistry family and they’re one of many advanced treatments that our staff at Lion Dental Centre in Stourbridge provide. When considering cosmetic dentistry, veneers, or any dentistry at all, always trust our professionals. Enquire online or call 01384 376336 today!