Miami and Coral Gables, Florida
Porcelain veneers are capable of making dramatic changes in your smile, simultaneously correcting cracked, chipped, misshapen, gapped, and discolored teeth. How do these porcelain veneers work their magic? Read on and see.
What Are Porcelain Veneers?
Porcelain veneers are thin facades of dental porcelain that are bonded to the front of your natural teeth. They have the luster of natural tooth enamel and can be carefully color matched to the rest of your teeth.
Planning Your Porcelain Veneers
One of the most important questions to answer is “how many veneers should I get?” This depends on the cosmetic dentistry problem you are trying to treat.
If you want to use veneers to correct a chipped, cracked, or gapped tooth, you will need only one or two veneers, and it’s important to color match them with your existing teeth. It’s recommended that you have your teeth whitened before getting porcelain veneers so they can be matched to the whitest shade of your natural teeth.
If you are trying to correct crooked teeth (a process known as instant orthodontics), short teeth, or discolored teeth with porcelain veneers, you may be planning on getting a full set of porcelain veneers to cover all visible tooth surfaces. In this case, color matching is not as important and you can use veneers to significantly whiten your teeth, picking the shade you desire rather than the one you are limited to by teeth whitening.
You can also decide on the type of smile you want to achieve, influencing the age and personality you want your smile to communicate to people who see it.
Preparing Your Teeth for Porcelain Veneers
To prepare your teeth for porcelain veneers, it is necessary to remove a small amount of your natural enamel. This allows the porcelain veneers to become the new surface of your teeth, smoothly flush with your natural tooth root, with no ledges or gaps that can trap food particles and harbor bacteria. The amount removed in most cases is minute, a fraction of the width of a hair. If you are looking to realign crooked or rotated teeth, it may be necessary to remove more. Typically, the process is painless, but we use local anesthesia to ensure you experience a minimum of discomfort and dental sedation is available if you are anxious.
Once your teeth have been prepared, impressions are taken of your prepared teeth. These are sent, along with notes about your cosmetic goals, to the dental lab where your high-quality porcelain veneers will be custom-crafted. In the meantime, you will be fitted with temporary veneers that will allow you to smile while you wait.
Evaluating and Fitting Your Veneers
Our Miami cosmetic dentists have very exacting standards for porcelain veneers. That’s why we only work with the highest-quality dental labs, and even then we put their products under careful scrutiny before putting them on your teeth. Then we will use a temporary bond to give you a chance to evaluate them for color, fit, and appearance before we permanently bond them. We are able to make minor adjustments to color and fit in the office, but if they’re not right, we can send them back.
Once you’re happy with the fit, the porcelain veneers will be permanently bonded to your teeth and you can begin enjoying their great-looking and long-lasting results. We will give you care instructions, and if you follow these care instructions (which are mostly the same as for your natural teeth), your veneers are likely to last more than a decade.
Why Choose Miami Designer Smiles
If you are considering improving the appearance of your smile with porcelain veneers, you want to work with a cosmetic dentist whose standards are as high as yours and the discerning judgment to see flaws even you can’t. You need a cosmetic dentist with advanced training and experience in porcelain veneers cases.
At Miami Designer Smiles, both our cosmetic dentists have trained at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, and they both have extensive experience using porcelain veneers to achieve great smiles.
To learn more about porcelain veneers and how our cosmetic dentists use them to reshape your smile, please schedule a consultation at Miami Designer Smiles today.