Ceramic Veneers/ Porcelain Veneers

 

What is Porcelain (Ceramic) Veneers?

 

Porcelain veneers are ultra-thin shells of ceramic material, which are bonded to the front side of teeth. Porcelain veneers are placed to mask discolorations, to brighten teeth, and to improve a smile. Highly resistant to permanent staining from coffee, tea, or even cigarette smoking, the wafer-thin porcelain veneers can achieve a tenacious bond to the tooth, resulting in an esthetically pleasing naturalness. The adhesive ceramic technology used for porcelain veneers has revolutionized restorative dentistry providing the ultimate in esthetic restorations at minimum sacrifice of tooth structure.

 

Benefits of Veneers:

 

Dental veneers are used to cover up crooked, misaligned, chipped or otherwise slightly disfigured front teeth. Veneers can also mask the undesirable defects such as teeth stains by tetracycline, by an injury, or as a result of a root-canal procedure. This can not only be purely for cosmetic purposes, but also to straighten an irregular bite line and it serves as a smaller measure than filing away the teeth for new crowns.

A significant advantage of porcelain veneers over other types of cosmetic dental bonding is related to the fact that a porcelain veneer's surface is just that, porcelain. Since porcelain is a ceramic, and therefore glass-like, its surface is extremely smooth and impervious. This means that the surface of a porcelain veneer will not pick up permanent stains. So Porcelain veneers resist staining. Quite often, veneers are inserted to close up gaps between teeth closing and can also be used instead of braces for teeth that are only slightly misaligned. In a nutshell, veneers can improve the look of your teeth.

 

Process:

 

To prepare the teeth for the porcelain veneers, the teeth are lightly buffed to allow for the small added thickness of the veneer, the crooked teeth is filed and then cleaned properly. Usually, about a half a millimeter of the tooth is removed. Then a cast of the teeth is taken and sent to the lab in order to fabricate the veneers.

The next process is the bonding of veneers. In this process the dentist places the veneers with water or glycerin on the teeth to check their fit and get a sense of the shade or color. While the veneers are resting on the teeth, the aesthetic results are viewed with particular attention to the color. At this point, the color of the veneers can still be adjusted with the shade of the cement to be used. To apply the veneer, the tooth is cleansed with specific chemicals to achieve a bond. Lastly the porcelain veneers are cemented to the original teeth and this is done with dental glue placed both on the tooth and onto the veneer and after the veneer has been fitted and stuck onto the tooth, the glue or cement is hardened by using a special light beam.Nevertheless, this procedure can greatly enhance the smile, and can heighten inner satisfaction and self-esteem.