What are veneers?

The best way to imagine dental veneers is to think of the outer layer of crowns; dental veneers are thin porcelain layers that are placed on the visible tooth surfaces after they have been treated, and which can help you to correct any sort of problem you may have with your teeth. These thin porcelain layers are adhered permanently to your teeth, covering them up. They can appear as a completely new set of teeth, and can look like whatever you choose to make them look like, meaning you can have a completely new smile. With dental veneers, there is absolutely no aspect of your smile that cannot be changed, including the shape, colour, size and even the angle of your teeth. Veneers are a relatively easy and cheap solution to any aesthetic problem you may have with your smile. Veneers are extremely popular in television and the entertainment business, and those flashy smiles you see on celebrities are almost always a very expensive set of dental veneers.

When are veneers used?

Veneers are used on healthy teeth that need to be changed in some way or other. Only healthy teeth can support veneers, as infections and decay can run rampant underneath a veneer, and it will not be visible because of the porcelain placed over your teeth. Veneers are thus used when the problem that needs correcting is purely aesthetic. Veneers are used when the problem cannot be otherwise fixed, and needs to be covered:

• Teeth that are a strange or unwieldy shape

• Discoloured teeth, or teeth that are naturally greyish or yellowish form illness or antibiotic use

• Gaps between the teeth that can’t be treated orthodontically

• Single tooth discolouration, from fillings or root canals

• When your tooth enamel is cracked or chipped

Veneers: procedure

Getting dental veneers is a multi-step process. The laboratory needs to make the veneers, and you need to pick one out that is really the perfect colour shape etc., as once they are permanently adhered, you will not be able to remove them.

1. During the first appointment, you will explain what you want to change about your teeth, and the dentist will calculate how much this will cost. After this is done, you will have your teeth adjusted to be able to receive the veneers. This involves taking a few millimetres off of your teeth in order to give enough surface area to be able to adhere the veneer. After your teeth have been shaped, you will be given a temporary set of veneers

2. After this you will have to pick out a set of veneers that is the right colour. The dental lab will then make the set of veneers that is exactly the way you want them to be in terms of shape and colour.

3. After this you will come back and try on your veneers. If they are the right colour, and look good in their new surroundings, then your dentist will permanently adhere them to your teeth. Make sure that you have had time to think about them, and that they look good, as taking them off is difficult, and changing their colour is nearly impossible. If the colour is not good, tell your dentist and they will remake them, until the correct colour is found.