Porcelain Veneers Procedure and Care
Porcelain veneers are thin pieces of porcelain, a strong material, bonded to your teeth to give you a more “perfect” smile. Veneers can change the shape, color, size, and contours of your teeth. You can get dental veneers to help cover a few broken teeth or a whole set that covers every tooth in your mouth.
Why Get Porcelain Veneers
Most people get dental veneers because there’s some aspect of their smile that they simply don’t like. They feel self-conscious about their smile for some reason. Stains that don’t disappear with cleaning or bleaching, crooked or crowded teeth, malformed or oddly sized teeth, minor cracking or chipping, and other cosmetic dental problems are all fixable with veneers.
What to Expect
At your initial consultation, tell Dr. Rinaldi exactly what you want. He will ask you questions about what you like and don’t like about your smile so he can develop a treatment plan. Dr. Rinaldi will also examine your dental health to make sure you are a candidate for veneers. Most people are candidates, but sometimes other dental issues need to be resolved first, such as in the case of gum disease.
Placing the Veneers
The patient’s end goals are the main determining factor in how Dr. Rinaldi will proceed. Some people want to fill gaps between teeth, others want to fix crowded, misaligned, or stained teeth. Each of these situations requires a trained eye and skilled hands to produce the best results.
After measuring and deciding on the tooth shade, the order is sent to a lab for manufacturing. Temporary veneers take the place of the permanent veneers until the permanent ones are ready. When they are ready, Dr. Rinaldi cements and cures the permanent veneers in place with a special light. Your smile will be as functional as it is beautiful.
Why You Should Visit Dr. Rinaldi
Dental veneers have changed a lot since their inception. One of the most important principles of modern procedures is conservative preparation. This means that Dr. Rinaldi shapes your natural teeth as little as possible. This is very important because your enamel is what protects the roots of your teeth.
“Full prep” dental veneers are thin, tooth-shaped pieces of porcelain that are cemented to prepared teeth. To have enough room to place the veneers, the enamel of teeth needs to be shaped using dental tooths. Dr. Rinaldi wants to maintain the strength of your teeth while preventing sensitivity, so he uses a conservative preparation design. This means that he will remove just enough enamel from the front and sides of each tooth to make your veneers fit properly and nothing more.
Dr. Rinaldi has over 3o years and a distinguished reputation placing over 30,000 porcelain veneers. He is very talented at striking the perfect balance between getting the veneers to fit beautifully and maintaining the comfort and strength of the teeth.
Care Tips for Porcelain Veneers
Dental veneers aren’t invincible. They need to be treated as carefully as your natural teeth. Follow these tips to preserve your investment and keep your teeth looking great for years to come.
- Brush your teeth morning and night using a soft bristle brush. Veneers are resistant to stains, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be cleaned. Use toothpaste and mouth wash to kill germs that cause bad breath and dental decay.
- Floss every evening, reaching up to the gumline. Don’t snap your floss.
- Don’t tear packages open with your teeth.
- Bite fruit away from the pit to avoid chipping your porcelain veneers by accidentally biting into it.
- Don’t tear food apart with your teeth. Use your knife and fork to cut it into manageable bites.
- Wear a nightguard if you grind your teeth while sleeping.
- Use a straw when drinking dark liquids like coffee or cola so you don’t stain your veneers.
Things to Avoid
- Don’t use your teeth in ways they were not meant for like opening drink bottles or packages. Doing this puts a lot of pressure on the veneers, and your natural teeth. Being careful with porcelain veneers will ensure they last for much longer.
- Stone fruits like peaches come with pits. It’s easy to bite into stone fruit and run your teeth directly into the pit. This could cause chipping. Cut fruit away from the pit to avoid accidental chipping.
- Take small bites until you’re comfortable with your new teeth. Getting veneers means your teeth might be longer, wider, and just different from what you’re used to. It may take a little time to acclimate to the feel and function of your veneers. Taking small bites is a great way to ease your way into eating with your new teeth.
- Wear a nightguard so you don’t grind your teeth while sleeping and chip or wear down your veneers. This is a major investment in your teeth, and you want to preserve them for as long as possible.
Overall, veneers are durable, but they need to be treated with care just like your natural teeth.
Schedule a Consultation
The expert team at Rinaldi Dental Arts has placed tens of thousands of veneers, and they’re recognized as experts in the cosmetic dentistry industry. To learn more about porcelain veneers, contact Dr. Rinaldi’s new office located in Chevy Chase, MA, to schedule a consultation. We look forward to improving your smile.
