Questions About Dental Veneers
Posted on: 26 July 2016
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If you have seen people with perfectly white, straight teeth, you may have assumed that they were just fortunate enough to have great genes. However, genetics are not always the reason that teeth look great. In fact, great-looking teeth are not always achievable through great genes or even good dental hygiene. Sometimes, the perfect appearance of teeth is due to cosmetic dental applications, such as veneers. Here are a few questions and answers about dental veneers:
What are dental veneers made of?
Dental veneers are often fashioned from resin, which is a type of durable plastic, or porcelain. Both materials tend to look like natural tooth enamel due to color and translucency.
If dental veneers are only needed for a few teeth, can they be color- matched to existing natural teeth?
Sometimes, dental veneers are only needed to cover a few teeth that may need to be corrected due to chips, cracks or discoloration. In these cases, instead of selecting the whitest available shade for a veneer, the application can be colored to match your other teeth.
Can veneers be simply removed if desired?
Once a tooth has been corrected with a conventional veneer, the application is considered permanent. Before a veneer is permanently bonded to the front surface of a tooth, a small amount of the tooth enamel is removed. This helps ensure that the veneer has a natural-looking appearance and is properly aligned with your natural bite.
Still, there are new advancements in cosmetic dentistry, such as the prepless veneer, which can be attached to the front surface of a tooth without requiring any tooth enamel to be removed or altered. If a prepless veneer is selected, it can be permanently removed at any time.
How long can you expect a veneer to last?
Conventional veneers are designed to be permanent applications. You can expect them to last between seven and 20 years or even longer.
In some instances, veneers need to be replaced due to the gradual recession of the gum line that occurs with age. This recession can make the top border of a veneer appear more obvious. Thus, a longer veneer may need to be installed.
To learn more about dental veneers and how they can transform your teeth, schedule an appointment with a dentist in your area. The dentist may even be able to create virtual images of how you will look with veneers before their installation.