Why Have Porcelain Veneers?
What Are Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are a custom made shell of porcelain covering over the front side of a patient’s tooth. Porcelain veneers can also be made to cover the front side and the backside of the tooth. Porcelain veneers can be made of a variety of materials and are bonded with a variety of techniques. Porcelain veneers are an addition to the tooth and provide protection to the patients natural tooth structure. For examples, view my porcelain veneers case studies. Some porcelain veneers require grinding down some of the natural tooth structure and other types of porcelain veneers require no tooth grinding. Both types are very successful and depending on your circumstances, one may be better than the other. In my 30 years of experience, I have found that using the “no tooth grinding type of porcelain veneer” is the best for your health but require extra skill in achieving natural tooth contours.
A Solution to Dark Colored Teeth & Tetracycline Stain
Porcelain veneers can hide dark colored teeth with porcelain bonded over the top of the stained teeth. Examples of dark teeth are: tetracycline stain which does not whiten very well using teeth bleaching, Zoom II, BriteSmile, Opalescence and Crest Whitening Strips and another type of dark teeth is Tooth Enamel Flourosis. Other patients have Flourosis, which is too much fluoride in the enamel tooth structure which turns the teeth a dark brown color over a period of years. Teeth get flourosis from natural springs or wells that have huge amounts of naturally occurring fluoride in the water. To get whiter teeth permanently, the porcelain veneer fits over the dark tooth to give the teeth a whiter color. Porcelain veneers can hide the color by covering over the dark teeth with bonded porcelain that is custom made for each individual tooth.
Lengthen Short Teeth and Reshape Odd Teeth
Porcelain veneers can also change the shape of the teeth, (see Instantbraces.com) as some patients have teeth that are too short or have an unusual shape. The porcelain veneer can fill in missing or deficient tooth areas, lengthen teeth or balance the shape of the teeth. (see Josh www.faceliftdentistry.com) The shapes of teeth and the color of teeth can be improved with porcelain veneers.
Improve a Bad Bite
Porcelain veneers can be used to improve the patient’s bite. Sometimes, from years of teeth grinding, the bite gets worn down. Porcelain veneers can be utilized to increase the length of your upper teeth and can replace all of the lost tooth structure on every tooth. Porcelain veneers can lift the patient’s bite and elongate the entire face while replacing the tooth structure that has been lost from years of grinding down the teeth. In other instances, the bite can be improved but not lifted or raised. Porcelain veneers can raise a bite by the dentist building the porcelain over the entire biting surface rather than just over the facial or outside surface. This technique is described in www.faceliftdentistry.com and is called Face Lift Dentistry ®
Cover Bad or Thin Enamel
Enamel that is thin or weak can be covered with porcelain veneers to protect the remaining tooth structure. Some patients never had solid enamel on their teeth due to early childhood illness or they inherited weak enamel from their parents. Porcelain veneers can be bonded over the enamel to add strength to the tooth. The tooth is strengthened, thickened and better protected with a porcelain veneer bonded to the weak but natural tooth structure.
Cover Sensitive Teeth
Some patients have teeth that are sensitive to hot, cold or sweets. Tooth sensitivity is mainly due to the exposure of the tooth structure. Some patients cannot even take deep breaths in cold air, eat ice cream or drink cold water because of root exposure or thin tooth enamel. Root exposure is caused by gum recession and thin enamel may be genetic or caused by erosion. Whatever the reason for the root exposure, or thin enamel, covering the root or covering the thin tooth enamel with porcelain veneers can greatly reduce tooth sensitivity while adding a new protective layer to the teeth.
Improve Crooked & Yellow Teeth
Teeth that are yellow and crooked, but have no decay, can be improved with porcelain veneers. Crooked teeth can be made to look perfectly straight. Yellow teeth can look clean and white. The shapes and sizes of the teeth can be balanced to both sides are even.
Types of Porcelain Veneers
Veneer brands, such as Vivineers ®, Da Vinci Veneers or Lumineers ®, Empress ® Porcelain Veneers, Lava ® Porcelain veneers, Procera Zirconium Porcelain Veneers, Feldspathic porcelain veneers and G3 are some of the types of porcelain. Some patients hear that is or that a particular brand of porcelain veneer is better and want that particular brand. That is a big mistake. The most important element is the skill and experience of the cosmetic dentist. The dentist needs to know how to build the shapes of the teeth and get the best tooth contour. (see Jerome) The dentist needs to know how to evaluate the bite to avoid having the veneers fall off or break. The brand of the porcelain veneer is not important; the dentist you choose is by far the most important element in the dental care. The dentist should choose the brand of porcelain based on which type of porcelain that would work best for your particular situation. Each type of porcelain has its advantages and disadvantages and the dentist needs to know them all.
Porcelain Veneer Summary
Porcelain veneers are absolutely the best way to improve your smile, your bite and your health in a way that does not compromise the structure of your teeth. The skill of the dentist is 95% of the success of the treatment. Without the best most talented dentist, the results are generally marginal at best, leading to patients that are dissatisfied. The dentist needs to understand the different types of problems and different combination of problems that are presented and be able to handle placing porcelain veneers to the satisfaction of the patient. The standards are rising as more and more people see other people with ugly, fake looking porcelain veneers or bad porcelain veneers. They do not want porcelain veneers because the other people they saw had bad or fake looking porcelain veneers.
In the hands of a skilled dentist, porcelain veneers can look better than natural teeth and provide a level of desensitization, comfort and tooth protection that is beneficial to the patient’s health for many years. My oldest case is nearly 25 years old and the patient looks better with the veneers than without them. His teeth are longer, whiter and far better looking than his short yellow natural teeth. He is now 86 years old and going strong and looks younger and healthier with his porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers greatly improve the image, the self-confidence and the ability of the patient to project themselves in a positive way for the rest of their lives.