Veneers
Veneers Niskayuna, NY
Let Veneers Give You A New Reason To Smile
Teeth that are badly stained, shaped or crooked may be improved by a veneer placed on the surface of the affected teeth. Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or plastic cemented over the front of your teeth to change their color or shape. Veneers are used on teeth with uneven surfaces or are chipped, discolored, oddly shaped, unevenly spaced or crooked. Little or no anesthesia is needed. Veneers have a longer life expectancy and color stability than bonding, and highly resist permanent staining from coffee, tea, or even cigarette smoking.
During your initial visit at Vaccaro Family Dentistry we will make a mold of your teeth, which we will then send to a lab to design the replica. In order to bond the veneer to your teeth, the procedure usually requires that we remove a small amount of enamel to accommodate the shell, which often makes a veneer irreversible.
Porcelain veneers can mask undesirable defects, such as a stained tooth an injury, or a root-canal procedure. They are ideal for masking discolored fillings in front teeth and are a popular choice due to the little amount of preparation that needs to be done. In addition, patients with gaps between their front teeth or teeth that are chipped often consider porcelain veneers to restore that area of their smile.
Process For Getting Veneers
The first visit usually lasts one to two hours, and during that visit, the teeth are lightly buffed to allow for the small added thickness of the veneer. Usually, about a half a millimeter of the tooth is removed, which may require a local anesthetic. During the same visit, a mold is taken of the teeth, and sent to the laboratory for the fabrication of the veneers.
During the final "bonding" visit, also about one or two hours, the veneers are placed on the tooth surface with water or glycerin on the teeth to check their fit and get a sense of the shade or color. While the veneers are resting on your teeth, they can be adjusted with various shades of cement to match the color of your teeth. To apply the veneer, the tooth is cleansed with specific chemicals to achieve a bond. Once a special cement is placed in between the veneer and tooth, a laser is shown over the area which causes a catalyst to be released, hardening the cement.
During a two-week period of adjustment that follows, you may notice the change of size and shape in your teeth. It is important to brush and floss daily. After one or two weeks, you'll return for a follow-up appointment. Porcelain veneers are reasonable facsimiles of natural teeth, not perfect replacements. For certain patients, no preparation of the teeth may be necessary. Schedule an appointment to see if you are a good candidate for veneers!