Do Veneers Straighten Your Teeth?

When people look in the mirror each morning, many focus on their faults. No matter how much people try, all they see are the faults that undermine their self-confidence. Discoloration or shape issues in one's teeth can decrease the shine and cause a person to dislike his or her smile. Fortunately, dental veneers are the solution that can restore a smile.

What Can Veneers Do For You?

What are Veneers?

Veneers consist of a tiny shell that looks like the color of teeth but might not match the color of your natural teeth. If you are looking for whiter teeth, you need to do that before undergoing the veneer process. After placement, there is no way to easily alter the veneer color and the adherence of the veneer to the tooth or teeth. Once in place, it is impossible to reverse since a professional needs to file down the natural tooth enamel to place the veneer. The process requires patience by both patient and dentist.

So...

When a dentist suggests a veneer for your teeth it is because he or she finds intrinsic problems such as discoloration of a tooth or several teeth by reason of a root canal treatment, stains from medicine, excessive fluoride exposure, or by resin fillings. Besides discoloration, a tooth or teeth may require the placement of a dental veneer if the basic shape of the teeth wear down over time. If teeth wear down because of grinding, then the wafer-thin veneer would not be a good choice as they do crack and chip easily.

What Can Veneers Help Repair?

Veneers can close the gap that occurs between teeth or to fix teeth that are misaligned or uneven due to being smaller shape and size to other teeth — but a veneer will not straighten teeth!  That requires an orthodontist and an orthotic appliance called braces. Veneers are purely for aesthetic appearance.

If the front teeth are unhealthy for a variety of reasons including decay, fracture, large fillings or an inadequate amount of existing enamel on the surface of the tooth, then veneers are not a possibility.

What is The Process of Veneers?

With the above said — open wide and be prepared to say 'ahhhhh' for the first of three visits. The first visit is a consultation to evaluate your teeth and mouth structure. Your dentist should discuss, in detail, what is involved in the process and any negatives to this procedure. Since veneers require shaving off at least a ½ millimeter of enamel from the natural teeth in order to place veneer over the teeth, there may be an increase in sensitivity to hot and cold foods/beverages.

After shaving off the enamel, the dentist will take impressions of the specific teeth or tooth. From this impression, an independent lab will create the veneer(s) and that usually takes 2- 4 weeks. The dentist can provide temporary veneers in this interim period if he deems it necessary. The last step in the process is the fitting of the veneer over the tooth.

The dentist will then sculpt the veneer to help it match the shape of the tooth perfectly. The dentist can also adjust the size or shape before polishing, cleaning and etching the teeth. A light beam to teeth will activate the chemicals in the cement, bringing a strong bond — and a perfect smile.

How can you really use this?

For more information or to schedule a dental veneer consultation with Smiles By Julia, request an appointment in our Fort Lauderdale dental office here: https://www.smilesbyjulia.com. Or call us at (954) 493-6556.

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