How Can You Care for Your Teeth Veneers After They're Placed?
Veneers are porcelain shells bonded to your teeth. They can help you improve the appearance of your teeth by correcting a variety of dental issues, including gaps, cracks, and stains. Veneers also work well when you want to change the length or shape of your teeth.
Veneers can be used for both front and back teeth. If you’re interested in getting veneers in Mississauga, ON, it’s important to understand how they will affect the overall appearance of your smile.
What are Veneers?
These are thin layers of porcelain or plastic placed over a tooth. A veneer can be used to improve the aesthetics of a smile and protect a damaged tooth’s surface. Veneers can be used on one tooth or several teeth.
Veneers are made from porcelain, ceramic, composite resin, or gold alloys and bonded to the tooth using special adhesives. They are designed to look like natural teeth and feel like them during chewing and speaking.
What are the Types of Veneers?
Two veneer types can be placed either by your dentist or a dental laboratory.
- Porcelain Veneers: These are the most commonly used type of veneer, and they’re made from porcelain fused to a plastic base material. They cost more than composite veneers, but they have a better lifespan, look more natural, and feel better to bite down on because they’re less likely to crack or break.
- Composite Veneers: These are made from resin composite material bonded to a metal base plate with adhesive cement or glue. They’re generally cheaper than porcelain veneers because there’s less labor involved in making them, but their lifespans are shorter than porcelain veneers (about five years).
When are Veneers Used?
Veneers are typically not recommended for patients with a small amount of tooth decay or damage and healthy gums. Veneers can be used to:
- Whiten discolored teeth
- Repair chipped, cracked, or broken teeth
- Close gaps and make them appear even
- Reshape crooked or misshapen (malocclusion) teeth
How Are Veneers Fixed?
Your dentist in Mississauga will first prepare the tooth by smoothing out its surface and applying fluoride. Then they’ll use dental cement to bond the porcelain (ceramic) veneer onto your tooth surface. The dentist will trim it down with special tools or hand files until perfectly shaped. Finally, they’ll polish the veneer to look natural in color and texture.
How Can You Care for the Veneers?
Dental veneers last between five to 10 years, but it is crucial to care for them.
- Avoid biting down on hard items
Veneers shells are strong but can chip or crack. You can preserve the veneers by not using your teeth as tools. Do not chew on ice, candy, and other hard objects. Avoid biting hard foods like nuts, popcorn kernels, apples with pits, and other crunchy things that can chip or crack veneers.
- Don’t use bleach products.
When you have veneers, it’s important to avoid using any bleaching products. Using toothpaste or other whitening materials can damage your veneer and cause discoloration over time. Also, the veneers cannot be whitened after they are fixed. If you want whiter teeth, stick with standard toothpaste and floss regularly!
- Brush and floss regularly
While brushing your veneers is the most effective way to maintain them, it’s not the only thing you need to do. Flossing is also crucial for keeping your veneers clean. You should use non-abrasive toothpaste and avoid using mouthwash that contains alcohol, as this can damage them over time.
- Avoid staining liquids
When it comes to your veneers, you should take care not to stain them with any of the following liquids:
- Coffee, tea, and red wine may stain the teeth.
- Smoking can also stain your veneers.
- Soft drinks are another common culprit that can cause staining on veneers and other dental problems like tooth erosion and decay.
Schedule an Appointment
Taking care of your veneers can help them last longer. Visit Forest Park Dental Arts for more information about veneers and what you can expect during the procedure.