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Dr. Steven Lind, DMD
PH. 503-566-7000
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Porcelain Veneers
Depending on the style of your smile, you may only show six teeth when you smile. These six teeth, then, become your smile, and when you meet someone, from the time between when you are introduced and when you actually get to know one another, those teeth might become you. Clearly, it's best to make sure these teeth are as white, even, and attractive as possible.
Unfortunately, these are also the teeth that are most exposed to staining foods. They suffer wear and damage from the adversities of life, and crowding from other teeth on both sides. As a result, these teeth can become not only discolored, but chipped, cracked, and crooked. For many people, porcelain veneers represent an ideal solution to fix all these problems at once.
What are Veneers?
Porcelain veneers are thin facades of porcelain material that are permanently bonded to the front of teeth. These veneers can whiten, strengthen, and reshape the treated teeth. Although you may think porcelain is fragile, the truth is that modern dental porcelain is as strong as tooth enamel, and when the veneer and tooth are bonded together, they reinforce one another to become even stronger. As long as you treat your veneers as well as your natural teeth, they are unlikely to chip or crack.
For more information, please see our Questions About Porcelain Veneers page.
The Veneer Process
The first step in the veneer process involves assessing your smile to determine what level of treatment will best improve the condition of your smile and complement your appearance, personality, and style of smiling. At The Art of Smile Making, we take an artistic approach to each restoration to provide you with a custom-made, knockout smile. We will determine the best ratios for your new teeth in terms of the vertical and horizontal proportions of the teeth, the relative height of all teeth, consider whether gum recontouring might help improve your smile, and create natural-looking restorations that make your smile unforgettable.
Next, your teeth are gently prepared to receive the restorations, and an impression of your prepared teeth is taken. This impression is then sent to our in-house master ceramicist, who prepares the restorations using the most modern fabrication techniques available, including several Empress Presses, whose quality manufacturing ensures a 95% survival rate for restorations after 11 years. You will wear temporary veneers while your permanent ones are being crafted. This temporary phase is what really sets The Art of Smilemaking apart from most offices. We call this your “trial smile”, and you are invited to come back to the office to have adjustments made to your temporaries. We can fine tune the aesthetics of your temporaries, height, width, and contouring until you are absolutely happy with how they look. Once you give the OK to proceed we take impressions and photos of the temporaries and our in house lab copies meticulously copies them.
This “trial smile” period assures that when it comes time to permanently deliver your new smile there are no “surprises”. At most other offices any correction would require mailing your case back to the lab and being reappointed.
Finally, once the restorations are ready, they are applied to your teeth and carefully checked for color, fit, and all aspects of final appearance. This is a crucial step, as the veneers are thin and their appearance can be changed when applied to your teeth or even by the bonding materials. In addition, there is sometimes variation between different porcelain veneers. This helps the veneers to look natural, since our teeth are not completely uniform, but sometimes the variation doesn't look right once in place. Because we have our ceramicist in-house, we can produce a replacement veneer on the spot, so you can be fitted that day, rather than having to wear the temporaries and wait two more weeks for the replacement, as you would have to do at other cosmetic dental practices.
Porcelain Veneer Results
Once your porcelain veneers are in place, your teeth will appear more even, whiter, and any cracking or chipping will be resolved. Your teeth can even be made to appear straighter in a process known as Instant Orthodontics.
Your veneered teeth will function like normal teeth, and should be cared for like normal teeth. With appropriate dental hygiene, including regular dental cleanings, your stain-resistant veneers will maintain their appearance for years, even decades to come. If you clench or grind your teeth a protective device will be prescribed by your dentist for sleeping.
To learn more about porcelain veneers or other cosmetic dentistry procedures and how they can improve the appearance of your smile, please contact The Art of Smilemaking today to set up a complimentary consultation.
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