12/12/2019
Living with veneers
Veneers can offer patients the beautiful smile they’ve always dreamt of, improving the colour and alignment of the teeth and dramatically increasing their self-confidence.
But it’s essential to take good care of veneers to ensure they remain ‘pearly white’.
Problems that can occur with veneers:
Stains
- It’s important to prevent staining of your veneers as it can be difficult or impossible to remove stains at the edge of the veneer where it meets the natural tooth.
- Whereas natural teeth change colour with tooth whitening, veneers and crowns do not.
- Brush and floss thoroughly as you would with natural teeth. Also avoid staining food and drinks such as red wine, tea, coffee, berries and tobacco products.
- Visit your dentist and hygienist regularly – the porcelain can be polished to remove stains except on the very edges where the bonding material holds the veneer to the underlying tooth.
- If staining on the bonding later occurs, replacement of the veneers can be the only solution.
Chips
- Just as with natural teeth, veneers can occasionally chip and break.
- Take care when biting down on hard foods.
- Don’t use your teeth as a tool! i.e. to loosen a knot or tear off some sticky tape.
- If you play a contact sport or ball games, be sure to use a mouth guard to avoid potential damage.
- We can make repairs to any chips.
Teeth-grinding
- Be sure to advise your dentist if you grind your teeth or clench your jaw in your sleep. These conditions can cause damage to your veneers just as they would to natural teeth.
- The solution could be something as simple as a night-time mouth guard.
Treat your veneers as natural teeth
Once you have veneers fitted, it’s as important as ever to maintain good oral hygiene – veneers do not mean your natural teeth are immune from decay and disease so brush, floss and rinse as thoroughly as you would have done before the veneers were fitted.
Replacing veneers
- With proper care, veneers can last for years but will usually need replacing at some point.
- Look for signs of cracking, wear or chips.
- Veneers may eventually discolour over time so you may wish to replace them with a whiter set.
- Veneers can be replaced individually – it is not necessary to fit a whole new set due to damage/discolouration to just one tooth.
- Gum disease can cause the gums to recede which may mean the darker tooth root can be seen above the veneers. If this occurs, replacing the veneers may be the only option.
