When getting a smile makeover with veneers, it’s essential to weigh the advantages and drawbacks beforehand. Porcelain dental veneers are one of our Long Beach office’s most popular aesthetic treatments, and it’s hard not to see why. They are often an incredibly worthwhile investment that helps them love their smiles like never before. From taking care of a wide range of issues to lasting longer than many other alternatives, there’s a lot to love about this cosmetic dentistry procedure. What are dental veneers? Veneers are thin tooth facades or shells that allow our cosmetic dentists to redesign patients' smiles completely. While they're usually made of hardy porcelain, other materials available, like composite resin, can let you to redesign your smile precisely how you want. However, like any treatment, there are some cons that you should consider in addition to the pros. The Pros Versatile Dental veneers change the entire tooth's appearance so we can fix multiple issues at once. They're an excellent choice for patients who don't want to tackle only chipped teeth or dental stains but instead would love to have an overall more beautiful smile. Porcelain veneers can take care of all of the following common cosmetic issues our patients often have with their teeth: Stains and discoloration Minor crookedness Cracks and chips in the enamel Teeth that are too long or short Lumps and misshapen teeth Gaps between teeth Wear and tear Long-Lasting Results Thanks to how durable porcelain is, veneers are incredibly long-lasting compared to other similar cosmetic procedures. They can take on a good amount of pressure and force, and they’re highly resistant to staining and discoloration. How long do porcelain veneers last? Porcelain veneers typically last around 10 to 15 years. However, you can extend this lifespan to more than 20 years as long as you take excellent care of them. In comparison, dental bonding lasts half that amount, and professional teeth whitening needs to be retouched every year or two. Headache and TMJ Treatment When teeth are uneven, it can be painful. Patients with bites that don't meet properly often suffer from frequent headaches and jaw pain. Some may even have TMJ disorder as the joint connecting the upper and lower jaws fall out of alignment. While many cases of TMJ disorder require specialized treatment like custom mouthguards or oral surgery, more minor instances can be fixed with porcelain veneers. Easy To Maintain With veneers, you can think of them as being just like your natural teeth. Other cosmetic dentistry procedures may need you to make changes to your lifestyle. For example, you should stay away from certain foods like curries, dark sauces, colorful berries, coffee after a professional teeth whitening. And braces require avoiding hard, crunchy, or sticky foods and adjusting the way you brush and floss your teeth to accommodate the brackets and wires. However, you can maintain your current diet and dental habits with porcelain veneers. They will stay just as white and unblemished after decades as they are on day one.

The Cons Limitations Since porcelains are so broad in what they can accomplish, they don't specialize in just one or two aesthetic issues. This limits what they can fix. For example, they can only address surface-level problems, so they can't correct fractures and breaks that harm the inner tooth's health. Additionally, while veneers can help with slightly crooked teeth, they can't take on a wide array of moderate orthodontic problems. They also can't fix bite issues like overbite and underbite, which would require clear aligners or braces. Cost Patients also can't expect their dental insurance provider to lighten the price either. Insurance plans typically only cover routine and necessary treatments that keep your smile healthy, like dental cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, etc. Veneers are elective procedures, so they aren't covered by dental insurance. With these factors in mind, how much do veneers cost? A patient's exact dental veneers cost depends on several variables, including: Number of veneers Material used Type of veneer Veneers’ size Location However, many dental offices, Long Beach Family Dentist included, offer and accept alternative financing to ensure every treatment is within budget for patients. If you have any questions or concerns about your dental veneers’ cost, please don’t hesitate to contact us and schedule an appointment with our cosmetic dentists. Tooth Preparation Your cosmetic dentist can’t place your veneers on your smile as-is. To prevent any awkward bulkiness and to create a glove-like fit, we will need to prepare your teeth beforehand. This involves shaving off a 0.5mm-thin layer of enamel, which is a minimal but permanent change to your tooth. Some patients aren’t comfortable with this requirement and would instead prefer a choice that leaves the base enamel untouched and intact. There are non-preparation alternative veneers that don’t require us to reshape your base enamel. These veneers are thinner than normal (about 0.3mm), allowing them to fit easily and without issue. However, this change makes them more brittle and likely to ship or fracture under too much pressure. They have a shorter lifespan, usually lasting five to seven years. Conclusion: Are Veneers Worth It? The answer depends entirely on you and your specific needs. Ultimately, dental veneers are an investment. These concerns are only a small price to pay for the fantastic benefits. Getting a complete smile makeover that they love for decades can be well worth it for those who take great care of their veneers. However, if veneers' disadvantages outweigh its advantages for you, our cosmetic dentists may recommend another alternative: dental bonding. Dental Bonding vs. Veneers Dental bonding is another flexible cosmetic treatment that can take care of many of the same issues as veneers, just not to the same degree. With composite resin, the same material used in dental fillings, our cosmetic dentists can address anywhere from a small, localized area to the entire tooth’s enamel. The liquid composite is molded into your desired shape and look before we harden it with a curing light. Only a complete tooth makeover is possible with veneers. Tooth bonding doesn't require much tooth preparation and no adjustment to the base enamel. It can instead be placed directly over the tooth. Altogether, composite bonding is less costly and more affordable for patients on a stricter budget. However, by switching to composite rather than using porcelain, bonding has its own drawbacks: Less durable: composite is more prone to chips and breaks, and it isn’t resistant to stains like porcelain Shorter lifespan: composite doesn’t last as long as porcelain, and bonding usually needs replacement in four to eight years Greater limitations: dental bonding can’t tackle the same level of cosmetic issues as veneers

Frequently Asked Questions Are Veneers Safe Long-Term? Although veneers require changing the enamel to fit them, the tooth preparation process itself is safe, even in the years following your procedure. A cosmetic dentist will only remove a small layer of enamel. We never go further than the enamel, leaving the softer and more vulnerable layers below untouched and undamaged. However, some patients may find that their teeth are more sensitive to hot and cold. This is particularly common among people who already had sensitive teeth. What Is The Best Color For Veneers? In most cases, choosing the whitest shade available isn't the best choice for our patients' veneers. Ensuring your teeth appear entirely natural is crucial to ensuring your smile looks perfect. When designing porcelain veneers, the general rule is that they should never be lighter than the whites of your eyes, usually two shades darker. While you might not have the same bright white as a red carpet celebrity, your smile will also feel much more you than anything Tom Cruise or Celine Dion can have. Who Is A Good Candidate For Veneers? To be approved for porcelain veneers, it's not enough to have cosmetic smile issues you want to correct. Our cosmetic dentists want your treatment to succeed, so we always check that our patients are excellent candidates. Two of the most important conditions are that you must be in good oral health and have sufficient enamel for the tooth prep process. If you have underlying problems like cavities or gum disease, they will need to be taken care of first. Veneers cover the whole tooth, so we can’t give you a dental filling afterward. Additionally, we want to check that patients can take good care of their porcelain veneers and get the most out of them. For example, if you have a habit of biting your nails or chewing on ice, you may not be a great choice. These actions can chip and break your dental work. The same is true for patients with nighttime bruxism, or chronic grinding and clenching your teeth at night. Are you ready to schedule a cosmetic consultation with us at Long Beach Family Dentist? Call our dental office at (562) 999-3602 today!