What are Dental Veneers?

People love an ideal smile. Cosmetic dentistry has made tremendous use of veneers. Veneers give dentists the ability to customize a tooth-shaped ceramic shell that is seated on the damaged or worn tooth in order to remedy misalignment, cracks, chips, spaces or discolorations. The veneer color is chosen by the patient and matched to their esthetic specifications.

Due to the advent of dental veneers in achieving desirable and durable esthetic results, cosmetic dentists have used veneers with greater frequency to achieve ideal smiles with finely shaped teeth. As more cosmetic dentists use veneers, the quality of veneer material improves in order to facilitate a pristine natural smile for the patient.

Diagnosis of Dental Veneers

Patient concerns and issues that can cause cosmetic dentists to diagnose dental veneers include any of the following:

Chipped or Broken Teeth: Veneers can cover the chipped tooth structures in order to create a smooth natural look.

Discoloration: Daily dietary or personal habits such as cigarettes, coffee, tea, soda, red wine, medications and some spices can cause discoloration of tooth enamel over time. Some individuals inherit a disposition towards tooth discoloration, which cannot effectively be remedied by bleaching the teeth. Although bleaching may help with some discoloration concerns, dental veneers allow the teeth to reach the optimal brightness without needing repetitive treatment (as is the case with bleaching out discoloration).

Daily Usage: Daily wear and tear can cause stress on tooth enamel, chips or fractures. Any of these residual results can create unevenness and a less than desired esthetic appearance.

Tooth Enamel: Veneers present a solution to those suffering from enamel concerns, whether the issue is that the teeth are worn over time or that the patient has inherited a genetic predisposition to weak enamel.

Gaps and Spaces: By creating an ideal shaped tooth, cosmetic dentists can remedy the gaps that are either naturally occurring or the result of personal habits.

Repair Misaligned and Uneven Teeth: A majority of dental patients either clench or grind their teeth, causing misalignment in their bite and unevenness in the esthetic line of their teeth. Veneers can aid in the alignment of the bite and re-create a fluid line to the upper and lower dental arches.

What makes dental veneers optimal for use by cosmetic dentists is their durability and design. Veneers are generally composed of a porcelain or composite resin material. Both of these materials create a smooth, enamel-like finish that is difficult to distinguish from a natural tooth. Qualified dental laboratories work in tandem with cosmetic dentists in order to create porcelain or composite resin veneers with the specified shape, structure and color.

Alternatively, some cosmetic dentists choose to fabricate veneers on the patient during the appointment instead of relying on a dental laboratory to create the veneer. Either way, veneers create the perfect blend of function and esthetic in enhancing a patient’s smile.