Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers or dental veneers are one of the simple and beautiful cosmetic solutions for correcting stained, chipped and misaligned teeth. Porcelain veneers are sometimes also used to cover the gaps between the teeth.

Porcelain veneers are wafer-thin shells of ceramic porcelain placed on the surface of the teeth, which gives you a more beautiful and natural looking smile.

Porcelain veneers is not an appropriate treatment choice for all types of teeth. There are some exceptions. Your doctor will carry out certain dental examinations and then decide whether porcelain veneers are suitable for your teeth. The teeth that are good candidates for porcelain veneers include:

• Porcelain veneers can be placed on the teeth that are naturally discolored or stained.
• They can be placed on the teeth that have previously undergone cosmetic bonding and are now discolored.
• Chipped or misaligned teeth can be corrected by bonding them with porcelain veneers. Thus it can correct minor tooth imperfections.

The teeth that are bad candidates for porcelain veneers include:

• Porcelain veneers can't be placed on the teeth that are decayed or unhealthy.
• They can't be placed on the teeth of a person having gum disease.
• They can't be placed on the teeth, which have lost large amount of their structure due to the decay.
• They can't be placed on the teeth having a little or no enamel left on their front side.

What is the Process of Placing Porcelain Veneers?

Porcelain veneers are placed on the teeth in two sittings. During the first sitting, your dentist will trim your teeth by removing about 0.5 mm of the tooth enamel from the front side of the teeth. This is the place, where the porcelain veneers are to be placed.

The amount of the tooth enamel removed is same as the size of the porcelain veneer so that the original size of the teeth is retained. The dentist will then remove an impression of your teeth or create a mold, from which your porcelain veneers are made-up.

During the second sitting, porcelain veneers are placed onto the front side of the teeth. Your dentist is now able to match the color of the porcelain veneers with your surrounding teeth.

If you are willing to have porcelain veneers placed on all of your teeth, he will provide you an appropriate porcelain veneer color that will suit your teeth giving them a lustrous look. Once the fitting and color is finalized, the porcelain veneers are fixed using a special light.

Advantages of Porcelain Veneers

One of the greatest advantages of porcelain veneers is that they give your teeth a natural look. They are translucent like natural tooth enamel and therefore closely resemble natural tooth enamel. Because of this, the light striking the tooth’s surface doesn’t reflect but pass through the tooth enamel and reflects off the opaque tooth dentin lying beneath it. This gives the teeth a bright and lustrous appearance.

Another advantage of porcelain veneers is that they are extremely stain resistant unlike other cosmetic dental bonding materials. And therefore can be used by the people who are addictive to tobacco, tea or coffee.

Disadvantages of Porcelain Veneers

"Every coin has two sides", and therefore along with advantages there are some disadvantages associated with the use of porcelain veneers.

Porcelain veneers have a possibility of breaking and falling off. Once broken or chipped they can’t be repaired. And therefore is inappropriate for the people who have the habit of biting nails or chewing pencils.

Having placed porcelain veneers is an irreversible process. Though minimum, some amount of tooth enamel is removed from the front side of the tooth. Because of this, the original appearance of the tooth is lost. Therefore you have to place porcelain veneers on it even if it falls off.

Because of the removal of tooth enamel, your teeth may become more sensitive to hot or cold foods and drinks. They may even experience tooth decay.

It is a very costly process. Porcelain veneers are very expensive and therefore can’t be affordable to everyone. They may cost about $900 to $1500 per tooth and have to be replaced after 10-15 years.