Using dental veneers, we can repair a multitude of problems that occur with your teeth. We have found that the wafer-thin porcelain or composite dental veneers are an excellent solution to cracked teeth, chipped teeth, teeth that are discolored and even misaligned teeth. There is a wide spectrum of reasons why someone should consider veneers, and as more people become aware that they do not have to live with a less than perfect smile, veneers are growing in popularity and use. As a dentist, having a remedy that is easy and can restore teeth to their former glory makes it much easier to create the beautiful smile that most people are looking for.
While dental veneers are a proven and effective solution, we want to make sure that our patients understand that ultimately there is nothing we prefer more than to salvage your own natural teeth. Proper hygiene, regular dental cleanings, and ensuring that we can catch any problems early on are ways you can help protect your natural teeth. It also helps, for you, to know some of the ways teeth get damaged, resulting in your needing dental veneers. There are three main ways that your teeth get worn down, leading to the need for a restoration.
- Eroding of the teeth: Everybody brushes their teeth with the hope of staving off this condition, which occurs naturally and over time. Tooth erosion happens when you drink or place a piece of food in your mouth. The acids in the foot interact with your tooth enamel and start to erode, or eat away at the enamel. Eventually, this leads to the exposure of the dentin, which is much softer and easily eroded. Eventually, this leads to cavities and other complications. In more severe cases, tooth erosion can lead to chips, cracks, and damage to teeth that would have to be repaired using dental veneers.
- Attrition of the teeth: All people have a normal level of attrition since this is the normal wear and tear that teeth experience by rubbing against the hardest substance in the body, other teeth. Enamel is by far the hardest substance in the human body; it is also the most brittle. When teeth rub up against each other in a constant state, eventually the enamel wears out, and this is known as attrition. Sadly this problem is greatly exasperated in people who tend to grind their teeth due to anxiety or stress. Night grinding, and even day grinders, can eventually wear their teeth down to the point where they have to get repair treatments like dental veneers.
- Abrasion of the teeth: Abrasion is perhaps the fastest way people find themselves needing dental veneers, or even replacement surgeries like dental implants. An abrasion occurs when people use their teeth as tools instead of using a man-made tool. Cracks and chips most commonly are abrasion caused when someone tries to tear a bag or open a bottle with their teeth. Abrasions can also occur by eating extremely hard food, like chewing on the kernels of popcorn. There is rarely any other way to fix abrasions, so most patients opt for dental veneers to fix that ugly chip or crack.
You can reduce the likelihood of needing a restoration by taking precautionary measures and visiting our office twice a year. If, however, your teeth become sensitive or damaged, we can help restore them, using dental veneers.
