Veneers are a thin, custom-made tooth-like shell used to cover the front surface of your teeth to improve your smile. They can be made from porcelain or a resin composite material depending on the patient’s preference and the dentist’s stock. Both these materials work well, but some experts believe porcelain veneers last longer and feel very similar to natural teeth. Resin isn’t as strong a material and doesn’t have the same light-reflecting qualities of a veneer finish. Resin veneers are also more likely to be subject to stains, and chips and can accumulate plaque more easily than porcelain veneers.
Porcelain veneers give you limitless freedom to improve the tooth color and shape of the tooth. With porcelain veneers, you never have to worry about staining or changing color over time. They are simply a better long-term solution for covering teeth.
A dentist in Midland Australia practices more veneer operations than perhaps any other non-intrusive surgical cosmetic dentistry. In most incidents, patients who seek veneers want to improve the appearance of their smile while, at the same time not undergoing expensive treatments such as implants and fixed dentures.
Who Needs Dental Veneers?
Unlike fillings and crowns, veneers aren’t a medical necessity but can act as a definite cosmetic solution to cover up unsightly discolored teeth. A good veneer treatment can greatly improve a variety of conditions, from coffee stains to usual wear and tear that occur over time and might diminish greatly the quality of your smile.
Veneers can:
- Enhance the brightness of a smile
- Fix fractures or chips
- Correct discoloration
- Close unsightly gaps in the tooth line
- Correct small misalignments
- To replace old fillings
How Does the Dental Veneers Procedure Work?
Veneers don’t last forever. Over time, they can become chipped or discolored, and changes to the gum line can cause the original natural teeth behind to begin to show. The typical lifespan of veneers is about 7 to 10 years,
There are some cases where dental veneers would not be recommended. If existing restorations need replacing or minimal remaining tooth structure, which would require a full-coverage restoration, such as a crown Additionally, people with active periodontal disease are not candidates for veneers, since they would be placed on an unstable foundation. It’s important to make sure the gums are healthy before starting the dental veneer process.
Because veneers are indicated for correcting aesthetic problems and are generally well received by a patient’s mouth, the procedure typically goes smoothly, with no real concerns. However, if you have existing veneers and they start to break down or you develop a cavity beneath the veneers, then they might need to be replaced to avoid destruction of the entire tooth structure below the veneer.
Veneers can be expensive. Like most cosmetic dentistry procedure, they are not usually covered by medical insurance policies and can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $6,000 per tooth depending on where the practice is located, and what the associated laboratory costs will be. It’s not a cheap fix but is less expensive than implant surgery.