Dental Veneers and Lumineers
Dental veneers and lumineers can also give you a bright, white smile. These cosmetic dental products might be used as an alternative in case professional teeth whitening doesn’t work out for a patient. Veneers and lumineers can do more than improve the color of your teeth. These cosmetic dental products can change the looks of your teeth. For example, veneers can make crooked teeth appear straight or make teeth in a row appear evener.
Dental veneers and lumineers are often used interchangeably by some clinicians. Veneers are thin shells made out of porcelain or a porcelain mix material. These thin shells are shaped like your teeth, and they can mimic the appearance of enamel quite well. Lumineers are just like veneers, but these are thinner. Your dentist will recommend whether veneers or lumineers are the best for your condition. Veneers are pasted onto the top of your teeth that require vision correction. There’s a bonding process involved in permanently affixing a veneer to a tooth. Veneers can last decades in your mouth and they don’t require special maintenance. But getting them is not as quick as having your teeth whitened.
If you want veneers or lumineers, you must first visit a dentist and have your teeth examined and x-rayed. If you qualify for veneers, your dentist would make impressions of your teeth. Then he or she would discuss how you want to improve your teeth, such as choosing a new tooth color. Veneers are only typically applied to front teeth that are visible when you smile. These are not typically used for back teeth. Veneers, though, can minimize the risk of decay on back teeth. After your initial visit, your dentist would send your teeth impressions to a laboratory to sculpt porcelain dental veneers. There’s another material you can use: composite resin. Dental veneers made from this material don’t require lab design. The dentist would do it right next to you as the procedure occurs.
You will have to go in for a second visit to get the veneers bonded to your teeth. During this process, the dentist would remove a razor-thin layer of enamel from your teeth. Then a special “cement” would be applied to paste the veneers or lumineers on. The dentist uses laser light to harden the cement and bond the veneers or lumineers to your teeth. You may need to take a local anesthetic during this procedure. Also, the bonding process could take up to a week, during which you would have to be on a liquid diet. Once bonded, your dental veneers would be there for life. There are some minor risks associated with the procedure. Veneers can make your teeth more sensitive to hot or cold consumables. Porcelain veneers could shatter because of hard bites. But such complications are rare. You should discuss risks versus rewards with your dentist.