Veneers

Dental veneers

A veneer is a dental term, a synonym of another English word lining.

A veneer is a thin lining with a thickness of 0.5-0.7 mm covering the front surface of the tooth, thereby improving its cosmetic appearance.

Porcelain veneers are one of the latest achievements of modern dentistry. On the page, you can learn what veneers are, when they are used, what are their advantages and disadvantages and how they are made.

When a porcelain veneer is used

The methodology of the tooth front surface lining was created as an alternative to full-ceramic crowns. Porcelain veneers are easier to make, they are technological and require much less time to manufacture.

Porcelain veneers are made by an indirect method, i.e. the process of reconstructing the tooth with a veneer has a laboratory stage. They are made outside the mouth in a dental laboratory. They are used to improve the appearance of teeth, which have partially lost their color, faded or have the wrong position.

With veneers, you can:

1. Restore congenital and acquired defects of the tooth enamel.

— Fluorosis spots

— Tetracycline teeth

— Teeth darkened as a result of trauma or root canal treatment by the old methods

2. Fix an enamel damage.

3. Correct an irregular tooth shape.

4. Restore the color of old fillings

5. Fix teeth gaps (diastema, trema)

The advantages of porcelain veneers

Veneers, compared to other types of dental restorations, have two main advantages:

— Porcelain veneers become no stains

— Porcelain veneers make the tooth look natural

Why are there no spots on porcelain veneers?

Earlier, various materials were used in dentistry for aesthetic restorations. They had one drawback: color changes and stains. This was because these materials were permeable. The color of these restorations changed and stains appeared after eating food with coloring properties (tea, coffee, wine, tobacco). In comparison to these materials, porcelain veneers have an advantage because the surface of the veneer is ceramic, and it is smooth and impermeable. Therefore, there will NOT be any spots on the veneer surface.

How can porcelain veneers give the tooth a natural appearance?

One of the main properties of the tooth enamel is transparency. This means that when light falls on the enamel surface, it is not immediately reflected and it partially penetrates the enamel layer. Then this light is reflected from an opaque layer of the dental tissue, which is under the enamel coating. This enamel transparency gives the tooth a distinctive appearance. Earlier, opaque materials were used to improve the tooth appearance, i.e., teeth restored with these materials did not have a transparent layer. Therefore, the light could not penetrate tooth tissue deeply and it was immediately reflected from the surface of these materials. Thus, these materials did not provide a complete resemblance to a natural tooth and only improved the tooth appearance. Porcelain veneers have complete transparency in contrast to those materials, thus, porcelain veneers provide a complete resemblance to a natural tooth. The light falling on the surface of the veneer, can get at a certain depth inside the porcelain, and then is reflected from the dental tissues. Therefore, a veneer does not differ from the adjacent teeth.

The process of porcelain veneers manufacture

The process of porcelain veneers manufacture requires two visits to a dentist. During the first, visit the tooth is being prepared, prints are made, the color of porcelain veneers is chosen and a temporary veneer is installed. During the second visit, a porcelain veneer is installed. The second visit usually takes place in one week. During this period, the technician makes dental veneers in the dental laboratory.

Tooth preparation for the porcelain veneer

A porcelain veneer has a certain thickness, which makes it strong enough. Therefore, the enamel layer is removed corresponding to the thickness of the future veneer. The minimum thickness of the veneer is approximately 0.5-0.7 mm, which allows you not to remove too much enamel and provides good strength and stability of the veneer.

Impression-making. After removal of the enamel layer corresponding to the thickness of the future veneer, a dentist begins to make the impression of the patient's teeth. The imprint is made with a help of special materials, most often it is paste. The paste is placed with a special spoon on the teeth for a few minutes for hardening. After hardening, the printing paste with a spoon is removed from the teeth. Then the impressions are sent to a dental laboratory. A dental technician in the laboratory molds a plaster model based on the obtained prints. A plaster model is a replica of the patient's teeth.

A dental technician makes veneer so that it accurately fits the plaster model.

The choice of color of porcelain veneers

A dentist selects the shade of the porcelain veneers that is similar to the shade of the adjacent teeth. For this purpose, a set of small porcelain plates in the shape of a tooth is usually used. Each plate has its own color. This set is called the color table. From this set, a dentist selects samples of different colors and applies them to the place where the veneer will be installed.

Making a temporary veneer

Typically, the manufacture of the veneer in the laboratory takes 1-2 weeks. At this time, a dentist makes temporary veneer, which he makes himself in the dental office during the first visit of the patient. Since some amount of the tooth enamel is removed, its outer surface may be rough to the touch. In addition, a patient may feel that the tooth has a sharp edge or surface. After removal of the enamel layer, the tooth may become more sensitive to the cold and hot.

The installation of porcelain veneers

Before installing the porcelain veneer, a dentist measures how tightly it adheres to the tooth checks the shape and color of the veneer. For this, a dentist applies the veneer to the tooth, marks disadvantages, removes the veneer, customizes it and eliminates the disadvantages, then applies it to the tooth again and so as long as until the veneer accurately covers the tooth.

The bite is always be checked. We check how the veneer contacts other teeth in the mouth. After a dentist ensures that the veneer tightly covers the tooth, has the correct shape and corresponds to the neighboring teeth color, he begins to cement the veneer. To do this, first, you need to clean the veneer and the tooth.

After this, the tooth enamel is processed with a special gel. Etching of the tooth enamel makes the surface rough and increases the strength of the veneer attachment to the tooth. After the enamel layer etching, the tooth and the veneer are covered with cement.

After that, the veneer is attached to the tooth.

After attachment of the veneer to the tooth with a special tool, a dentist removes the cement excess from under the veneer.

Here the porcelain veneer is attached to the tooth.

Contraindications for the manufacture of veneers

The main contraindications for the manufacture of veneers are

— Bad teeth

— Weakened teeth

— Teeth with insufficient enamel

– Bruxism (a habit to grit your teeth hard or grind them)

— Erupting teeth

— Direct bite

It is not recommended to install porcelain veneers on the decayed teeth and in periodontal disease (gum disease). First, completely cure these diseases, and then you can proceed to install the veneers. If a significant portion of dental tissue is destroyed by tooth decay or breakage, or there is a great seal, it is not desirable to install porcelain veneers. These teeth have already lost a large amount of solid tissues and porcelain veneers will not significantly increase the strength of the tooth. To restore such teeth is the ideal solution is a dental crown. It is not advisable to install veneers on the teeth with the reduced enamel thickness of different origin. Porcelain veneers are installed only on the enamel layer. If the enamel thickness on the front surface is insufficient, it is impossible to provide good durability. Bruxism is a habit to grit your teeth hard or grind them. Porcelain veneers are contraindicated in bruxism. The forces of gritting or grinding can easily break the veneer.

The disadvantages of porcelain veneers

One of the main disadvantages of veneers is that they break. When the veneer breaks, it cannot be restored. In this case, the only solution is to replace it with a new one. If the veneer has simply come off the tooth, there is a possibility to re-glue it to the tooth. When the veneer has come off from the tooth, you need to assess its shape to decide whether the veneer is broken. Typically, the veneer has a rounded and symmetrical shape. You can also examine the tooth, where the veneer was installed. If you see the part of the veneer, then, without doubt, the veneer is broken. However, if the veneer remained intact, you should visit a dentist, because it may be possible to put it on the tooth again.

Caring for porcelain veneers

Veneers can serve for more than ten years if you follow the rules of hygiene and undergo periodic dental examinations. The service life of veneers depends on how the patient cares for them. A dentist gives some recommendations on how to proper care about porcelain veneers. Teeth with porcelain veneers, as regular teeth, require careful daily cleansing with a toothbrush and floss. Good hygiene minimizes the accumulation of plaque and the risk of tooth decay. Veneers, of course, are not subject to caries but tooth decay can occur in those parts that are not covered.

Porcelain veneers are designed to improve the tooth appearance. They cannot resist considerable stress or pressure. To exclude the effects of excessive pressure, you need to give up nail biting, opening bottles with your teeth etc. These impacts could lead to breakage or displacement of the veneer. It is recommended to refrain from drinking large quantities of tea, coffee, and red wine.