Ways to Keep Your Porcelain Veneer in Good Condition

We can provide you with a porcelain veneer or veneers to transform the appearance of your smile. Whether you have one damaged tooth that needs restoration or you do not like the appearance of multiple teeth, we can turn your smile into something truly beautiful. Porcelain veneers have a natural appearance that makes them ideal for a smile makeover. At our dental office in Los Alamitos, we can use veneers to fix a cracked or chipped tooth, close gaps in between teeth, make teeth appear to be straighter, cover dark stains, and brighten teeth.

Placing porcelain veneers will generally require two appointments. We need to take an impression, X-rays, and measurements of your teeth before creating the veneers in a dental lab. Next, we will need to prepare your teeth by removing a portion of the enamel, give you temporary veneers, and then bond the permanent ones in place once they are ready. The procedure is minimally invasive and will give you the smile that you desire.

Getting a porcelain veneer takes a commitment in time, effort, and financial resources. We make the experience pleasant, but you still need to take steps to keep your veneers in good condition to make them last.  Here are some steps that you can take in order to do so.

Keep up with good oral hygiene

Be sure to brush and floss your teeth throughout the day.  While a porcelain veneer is bonded to the surface of your natural tooth, the tooth underneath can still face infection. In order to reduce this risk, you need to practice good oral hygiene and avoid food that is high in sugar, starch, or acid.

Visit us at our Los Alamitos dental office for dental exams

While porcelain veneers are strong and durable, if your natural tooth becomes infected, we may need to remove the veneer to eliminate the infection. Removing a dental veneer is a complex procedure that we want to avoid.  We recommend that you visit us at our dental office in Los Alamitos for regular teeth cleaning appointments. With regular dental appointments, we can remove built up plaque and tartar, reducing the likelihood of an infection developing.

Regular dental appointments also give us the opportunity to examine your veneers to see if they have become damaged in any way.  If so, we might be able to fix them without replacing them but this requires early detection and for the damage to be minor.

Wear a night guard

If you grind your teeth at night, it can cause great damage to your porcelain veneers and may even cause them to pop out of place. Nighttime grinding can also cause your natural teeth to become damaged or to erode. To prevent this unnecessary damage, wear a night guard while you sleep. This will prevent your teeth from touching and also prevent headaches and jaw pain that can be the result of grinding and clenching.

If you want to create a beautiful smile, a porcelain veneer can help you to do so. To learn more about the process or to keep your veneers in good condition, call us and schedule a dental exam at our Los Alamitos dental office.