Porcelain Veneers

If you have crooked, badly stained, or poorly shaped teeth your smile may be improved by porcelain veneers. With veneers your teeth can be made longer, whiter, wider and more beautiful. Properly done porcelain veneers mimic natural teeth and cannot be detected except by your dentist. They can be used to create the "smile of your dreams."

Very thin veneers can be made to hide minor smile problems such as a small amount of spacing between teeth or to correct slight rotations of the teeth.

Other times porcelain veneers can be used to give you an "extreme smile makeover" even correcting such severe problems as wider spacing, badly worn or discolored teeth. With veneers we can treat teeth with uneven surfaces or uneven spacing.

At Smiles by Design we often use a Smile Design process where your new smile is designed on plaster models. You then have a chance to view your smile before your teeth are even worked on. When you approve the smile, that Smile Design becomes the "blueprint" for making your veneers. Just like a building contractor needs a blueprint to know what the house he is building is to look like – a technician needs a Smile Design or "blueprint" to make your porcelain veneers.

After the Smile Design is completed, there are usually only two appointments. The purpose of the first appointment is to prepare your teeth to accept the veneers during which a small amount of enamel is removed mostly from the fronts of the teeth. The amount removed depends on your particular situation and what changes are being made to your smile. Then a silicone impression or mold is made of the prepared teeth and sent to the lab. When you leave for home after that first appointment you will be wearing provisional veneers which, because we have a Smile Design, look very much like your new smile will look. Patients leave the office ecstatic because of the immediate and beautiful changes in their smile at the first appointment.

In the lab the technician makes a plaster model of your teeth, on which the porcelain veneers are made. Because the technician has the Smile Design he knows how to make the veneers. This greatly enhances the final appearance of your smile. It will look the way we planned it.

During the second appointment the provisional veneers are removed and the final veneers are checked for fit, color and appearance. At this time we will give you a mirror and you will have the opportunity to verify that the smile you see is the "smile of your dreams". Your veneers are then bonded to your teeth and virtually become a part of your teeth.

Proper care of porcelain veneers is no more extensive than proper care of your own natural teeth. Regular checkups and cleanings, plus daily brushing and flossing to remove the plaque from the teeth, is usually all that is needed for proper maintenance of your porcelain veneers.