Veneers can be a permanent solution to help mask your tooth’s colour, shape, or positioning. They are increasingly becoming a popular way to have small imperfections in your smile fixed. Let’s review seven things you should know before getting veneers.
1. Find an amazing dentist
Veneers are a serious aesthetic dental procedure. To ensure you’ll get the results you want, it’s important that you look at the cosmetic dentist’s work to give you an idea of the style and type of work. Look at before and after photos and see if there are images of the work 10 years later. You need to make sure that you like the veneer work on other patients as once you get them, taking them out is not a recommended option.
2. Veneers aren’t a must but they are an option
If you don’t like the look or shape of your teeth, veneers may be a good option. Some adults who have had braces in the past can find themselves with crooked teeth. For those that don’t want to go through another set of braces in adulthood to correct the problem, veneers could be an option. Veneers can also help patients that have chipped front teeth or gray teeth from accidentally falling and hitting their teeth. For patients with older thicker porcelain veneers looking for a natural finish, modern veneers can be the answer.
3. One smile does not fit all
Unfortunately, you can’t bring a photo of a celebrity’s smile to your dentist’s office and say I want her exact smile! What works for someone’s face may not work for you. Getting veneers isn’t like going to the hair salon. As a patient, you can share your ideas of what you like or don’t like about your teeth while the cosmetic dentist can take what you don’t like and make it work in a customized dental procedure. The cosmetic dentist will take into account your personality, how you talk, your expressions, and your different types of smiles into account to make sure your teeth will look great in any circumstance. Your teeth will also remain fully functional so you can still eat.
There are two ways to ‘try on’ a new potential smile. The first is with a temporary composite that is directly sculpted and placed on top of the teeth. Another way is by using technology to create a digital rendering that is comprised of multiple pictures taken of the patient’s smile. A 3D rendering can be created with these images of a new potential smile with the help of veneers.
4. Making imperfections work
Consider maintaining the character of your smile. You don’t need to hide all your imperfections. Noticeable chiclet-looking teeth aren’t the goal when you want a natural-looking smile. Different types of nationalities require different anatomically shaped teeth so it’s important that your veneers match the aesthetic you were born with.
5. You don’t need veneers for all your teeth
Depending on your needs and budget, you can consider which teeth may benefit from veneers. If you have one tooth that has a gray cast due to an accident you had when you were little, you can fix that one tooth. If you have a great smile but you have concerns with your four front teeth, you can get veneers fitted to those teeth according to your needs and budget. The dentist will give you options for what will look and feel the best for you, so don’t hesitate to have a consultation with a dentist before committing!
6. Finding the perfect shade of white
The shade of your teeth veneers needs to be a customized decision. You may think that you want white-white teeth but teeth can be naturally yellow-white or gray-white. You want a shade that won’t make your teeth appear fake, dense, or opaque. Your skin tone will play a part in determining the shade of your veneers. Your cosmetic dentist will likely paint the temporary veneers a certain shade so you can see how they will look beforehand.
Veneers are an investment that you’ll have to take care of. To learn more about Veneers and if it may be right for you, contact our team of North Vancouver dentists at Peak Dental Arts for a consultation.