Are Veneers for Me?

Are veneers for me? Modern dentists have a number of techniques for helping patients, and one of the most versatile is a porcelain veneer. But, are they right for you?

While many patients realize they have problems with their teeth, not many are aware that many of them can be solved by a single technique: the porcelain veneer is incredibly versatile and can be used to:

– Hide fillings in visible areas of teeth
– Correct stains caused by root canals
– Hide chips or broken teeth
– Fix gaps between teeth
– Fix irregularly shaped or aligned teeth

Veneers can treat a wide range of problems because they are a fairly simple, straightforward procedure – they simply provide a cap of synthetic material on top of a patient’s existing teeth.

To apply veneers, a trained local Greensboro cosmetic dentist will remove a thin layer of enamel from the surface of the patient’s tooth (or multiple teeth), and create a model of the surface. From the model, a porcelain cap will be created, which will then be permanently bonded to the tooth on a later visit. The resulting cap leaves more of the natural tooth than a crown, but provides the dentist with an opportunity to match the patient’s desired shape, size, color, and spacing, which allows the dentist to solve many different cosmetic problems with the single veneer.

While many of the problems treatable with veneers can be treated with other means (such as crowns or implants), veneers are often preferred for a number of reasons. The porcelain material is stain resistant, matches natural tooth appearance very well, can be colored to match existing shades of nearby teeth, and can typically coexist with gum tissue without causing irritation. Veneers do require removal of some enamel, but are less aggressive than options such as crowns, which often require significant shaping.

While veneers are strong and versatile, they are permanent and irreversible, and the thinning of the enamel can leave your teeth more sensitive to heat and cold. To fully answer the question – Are veneers for me? Be sure to consult your dentist about the various treatment options before deciding on a specific treatment.

Call Dr. Graham E. Farless DDS today for more information on veneers, 336-282-2868. Visit his practice online at www.gsodentist.com.