Dental Veneers
Porcelain Veneers (Instant Orthodontics) in Newport News, Virginia
Perhaps the most stunning way to transform a smile in a relatively short period of time is with porcelain veneers. Teeth can be made longer, shorter, straighter or whiter, in just a matter of a few weeks. In addition, teeth that have received veneers tend to be more resistant to stain, since the surface is so smooth.
Veneers are like crowns in some ways, except that they are smaller, as they usually only cover the part of the tooth that shows. Also, while crowns are 1-2 millimeters thick, veneers can be as thin as 0.3 millimeters thick, which means that in almost all cases less tooth structure needs to be removed from the teeth to make room for a veneer.
There are two different veneers that can be made. The most common type involved removing a minimal amount of tooth structure from the tooth, making an impression, and then eventually bonding the veneers to the teeth. There is also a second type of veneer, commonly called a “no-prep” veneer, in which little or no tooth structure is removed prior to making impressions. This second approach is possible when teeth are in good position, and the desired result is primarily a color change. However, if teeth are twisted or out of line, then no-prep veneers will not achieve the benefits possible with the conventional veneer approach.
Because veneers can create big changes to the shape and appearance of teeth, it can be helpful to verify that a patient will like the change prior to the veneers being made. A dentist can accomplish this by fabricating temporary veneers that simulate the changes desired in the final treatment. A patient can wear the temporary veneers for a week or two to verify their approval of their size and shape. Once the patient and the doctor are both happy with the temporaries, an impression of the temporaries can be made, which gives the dental laboratory an excellent guide of how to make the final veneers.
While veneer treatment can create a beautiful smile, proper care is necessary in order to help them last as long as possible. Brushing, flossing and regular professional cleanings is even more important for patients with veneers, because it is a bit harder to clean around veneers than natural teeth. However, with proper home care and regular professional care, veneers can create a beautiful look for decades.
