Veneers. While you hopefully won’t discover many veneers on cabinets you find at New York’s myriad antique shops, everyone has had a cabinet at some point in their life with veneers. The idea is to cover the outside with a thin “veneer” of high-quality wood to mask the cheap wood beneath. This makes the piece look great, without the cost.
At Pound Ridge Cosmetic Dentistry our porcelain veneers are a little different, but the goal isn’t all that far off — covering a damaged tooth or teeth with porcelain veneers masks the flaws beneath, presenting a perfect smile to the world. We can use veneers to cover slightly damaged, badly stained, or misshapen teeth.
What are porcelain veneers?
Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are bonded onto the front surfaces of your teeth. Veneers can mask issues such as gaps between teeth, stains that are beyond whitening (such as from tetracycline), chipped teeth, crooked teeth, and the like. Porcelain veneers with Dr. Smith and Dr. Feng can give you what appears to be a perfect smile despite the cosmetic flaws beneath.
Cosmetic only
Porcelain veneers are intended as a cosmetic dental procedure; they do not remedy issues in the teeth they are covering. Issues such as decay, a deeply cracked tooth, a large chip, or exposed roots need to be addressed and corrected before any veneer procedure can begin.
The process of applying veneers
Porcelain veneers at Pound Ridge Cosmetic Dentistry are a three-appointment procedure.
- Diagnosis and planning — Dr. Smith or Dr. Feng will examine your teeth and together you will take an active role in planning your smile. They will show you the limitations of veneers and make sure there are no other existing problems that first need to be addressed.
- Preparation — The second appointment is all about prep, taking one to two hours. To make room for the veneers on your teeth, approximately one-half millimeter of the tooth surface is removed. This does not require any anesthesia. Once all of the teeth are prepared, we take impressions to send to the dental lab for fabrication of your veneers. This will take one to two weeks, so in the meantime we apply temporary veneers to your teeth.
- Bonding — In the third appointment, we place each veneer onto your teeth with water or glycerin to check the fit and color. At this point, the color of the veneer can still be subtly adjusted by the shade of the cement used to adhere it. Once we determine all is well, we clean your teeth with specific chemicals that improve their bonding ability. Special cement is placed, the veneer set, and a curing light applied to harden the cement. Dr. Smith/Feng then removes any excess cement and does a final check before you leave. This final appointment takes one to two hours.
Interested in masking some cosmetic flaws and building a perfect smile with porcelain veneers? Call us at Pound Ridge Cosmetic Dentistry, (914) 764-3540, to schedule a consultation.
