Cracks, chips and stubborn stains – what can you do if these suddenly appear on your teeth? In these cases, porcelain veneers should be your first choice. Veneers are designed to effectively cover up cosmetic imperfections in your teeth, and leave your smile looking more brilliant than before.
What Are Porcelain Veneers?
Veneers are thin shells made of porcelain that are placed over the front-facing surfaces of teeth, and do not encapsulate the whole tooth. Depending on the thickness of the veneer, a certain amount of light is allowed to pass through. This light reflected gives off a brilliant sheen that makes your teeth appear whiter and more radiant.
What Can Porcelain Veneers Fix?
Here are just a few of the imperfections that a veneer can mask:
- Crookedness.
- Minor misalignments.
- Severely discolored, or whitening-resistant stains.
- Cracks and chips.
- Wide gaps between teeth.
- Teeth that don’t match in size and shape.
The Porcelain Veneer Process
There are two separate appointments in the process: the impression and the installation. During the first visit, the teeth that need veneers will be lightly buffed and shaped. The purpose of this alteration is to make room for the veneer itself, so that it’s not sticking out above the surface of the tooth. After the enamel reduction is complete, impressions will be taken of your smile.
Between your first and second appointments, the impression is sent to a lab where your veneers are created. Once complete, you’ll return to our office for the installation.
The veneer is placed over your teeth with a bonding cement. Once secured in place, we will check that the porcelain veneer is comfortable and seamless against your smile. You will still be able to brush and floss your teeth as normal, but follow any additional instructions from Dr. Diane W. Sherman.
The Importance Of Appearance
In 2007, Procter & Gamble published a unique study about white teeth and first impressions. Participants in the study were asked about the importance of a first impression appearance. In simulated job interviews, 65% of participants were viewed as “more successful” and 61% as “more confident” after their teeth had been whitened. Participants also viewed a whiter smile as a sign of financial success (64%) and trustworthiness (52%).
Dr. Dacher Keltner, smile psychologist and Professor of Psychology at University of California at Berkeley said, “This study provides some of the first findings that speak to the powerful benefits of having a whiter smile…Visible from 200 feet, it is the intense focus of what other people look at, and a sign of our warmth, confidence, and health.”
Though we are taught to “not judge a book by its cover,” we are instinctively drawn to a whiter, more confident smile. If you have job in the public eye or trying to get back into the dating scene, a whiter smile with porcelain veneers can be the ticket to a more confident you. Veneers not only cover up the cosmetic flaws in your smile, but also reflect the true you inside.
Veneers And Other Cosmetic Combinations
Porcelain veneers are an excellent solution to cover up cracks, chips and stubborn stains that are resistant to whitening. But they can also be combined with other cosmetic treatments to form a perfect smile!
Crowns
For teeth that have been too physically damaged for veneers, we offer the solution of porcelain crowns. Crowns are tooth caps that are shaped and shaded to look exactly like a natural tooth. The crown is placed over the tooth to protect it from further damage. We can draft a treatment of both veneers and crowns, to cover up these cosmetic flaws and create your dream smile.
Teeth Whitening
Stains and discoloration can make your smile appear unhealthy, but oftentimes this can be cured with some thorough teeth whitening treatment. But, while rare, there are some stains that are too deep-seated to be bleached with whitening. In these cases, we recommend a combination of whitening and porcelain veneers to mask these stains. These treatments combined, you’ll have a brighter and whiter smile.
Discover The Beauty Of Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are one of the best cosmetic solutions out there for dental flaws. They are surprisingly versatile too, able to cover up cracks and chips or change the shape of a tooth. Come see what porcelain veneers can do for your smile by giving us a call and scheduling a consultation with Dr. Diane W. Sherman in Encinitas.