Veneers Discover a New You
“The color of my teeth still isn’t right even though I’ve tried whitening them”.
Do you want to choose the whiteness of your teeth? Do you want them to look straighter, longer, or younger? Do you have enamel wear? Then veneers may be for you.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Definition of veneer is:
a thin sheet of a material such as. a: a layer of wood of superior value or excellent grain to be glued to an inferior wood. b: any of the thin layers bonded together to form plywood. c :a plastic or porcelain coating bonded to the surface of a cosmetically imperfect tooth.
A veneer is a thin layer of material that is applied to a surface to give the surface a different look. In the furniture world, burl maple can make an art frame or a piece of furniture look truly beautiful. In the dental world, veneers make the smile appear more beautiful. They can be made out of porcelain or out of composite material.
Porcelain Veneers
The traditional material, porcelain veneers are much like porcelain china. They have a smooth finish that can be of any shade and reflect light beautifully. They are color-stable, slightly translucent, and have been used for many years. There are different types of porcelain veneers. Some are thinner and require little to no removal of enamel, and some which are thicker and require some recontouring of tooth structure. The strength of the tooth, the original color of the enamel and the dentin underneath it, and how much lighter a person wants the teeth to appear are a few major factors that determine what type of veneer design to select. The major drawback of porcelain is that while strong, it is brittle. If a porcelain china plate falls to the floor and breaks, you need to buy a new one. If a person chews on a rib bone or lobster shell by accident and the porcelain breaks, the veneer usually has to be completely redone.
Composite Veneers
Like hardiplank siding instead of wood siding for houses, composite material is a newer material with different characteristics than porcelain. Composite can be used to build veneers on teeth and many times the recontouring required on teeth is minimal to none. While the material is more porous to stain than porcelain, it is highly polishable, and should there be any chipping from chewing on something hard, it is easily repairable.
Quite often, people are concerned that they will get a smile that does not represent who they areā¦ they do not want the cookie-cutter glow-in-the dark neon bright white smile. Veneers are fun for us to do because we integrate a person’s thoughtful expression of what the smile should look like. This interactive and comfortable design process has liberating results–you can have that Cheshire cat grin and laugh completely unabashedly.
If you’d like to know more on what can result from a collaboration together, give us a ring for an evaluation at 610.644.8815 or contact us. See how all your fears vaporize with our step-by-step planning, so the real you can really shine through when you smile.