Porcelain veneers are a great way to restore your smile to its natural brilliance, or to get the smile you’ve always dreamed of. Porcelain veneers are an amazingly successful procedure that can dramatically transform your teeth, but if you’re going to get them, you may not want to wait too long to have them placed, because the state of your natural teeth could make it hard to get good results.
You may think that because porcelain veneers are going to completely cover the front of your teeth, it doesn’t matter what state they’re in, but it does. Your natural teeth have to support the porcelain veneers, so it’s important that you maintain them. Your care of your natural teeth can make a big difference for the results you get with your porcelain veneers.
Danger 1: Erosion
Dental erosion is when acid is wearing away the surface enamel on your teeth. Unlike cavities, which are localized attacks on your enamel and are caused primarily by oral bacteria, erosion affects all surfaces of your teeth. Erosion is often caused by regularly consuming acidic foods and beverages, GERD, or intentional purging of food because of bulimia.
Although porcelain veneers can be used to replace surfaces of your teeth that have been worn down by erosion, they may not work as well if you’ve lost too much enamel. Porcelain veneers are more likely to bond better if they can be bonded to enamel–the outer layer of your teeth–as opposed to dentin–the second layer of your teeth. Studies show that the success rate for porcelain veneers bonded to enamel is 99%, compared to just 94% or less for those bonded to dentin.
Danger 2: Decay
Decay can damage teeth, and they can also endanger porcelain veneers, especially if it gets a foothold behind the veneer. Once this occurs, the tooth can be at risk, as well as the veneer.
To prevent this, you should make sure you’re taking care of your teeth before you get veneers placed. You should be especially careful about flossing your teeth daily to make sure you’re not experiencing decay between teeth.
The good news is that this limitation can be overcome by using dental crowns instead of veneers.
Danger 3: Discoloration
One of the benefits of porcelain veneers is that they can cover essentially any amount of discoloration on your teeth. No matter how dark the tooth, a porcelain veneer can make it look as white as you want. But there’re tradeoffs.
In order to cover darker teeth, veneers have to be a combination of thicker and more opaque. Since your natural teeth have a degree of translucency, this can make your veneers look less natural. It can also make your veneers stand out more if they don’t match with other teeth in your mouth.
Don’t Wait for Veneers
In addition to caring for your natural teeth, there’s another solution to make sure you’ve got a good foundation for porcelain veneers: get veneers sooner. Waiting only gives more time for problems to develop in your natural teeth that may jeopardize your veneers.
If you are interested in porcelain veneers in Rancho Mirage, there’s no time like the present to look at them closer. Please call (760) 832-7915 for an appointment with a cosmetic dentist at Country Club Dentistry.
