Treatment
Dental Veneers in Mesa, AZ
You do not like your front teeth in photographs, and you have been wondering for a while whether anything can be done about it.
If whitening or a small repair would get you most of the way there, that is what we will tell you, including when you came in asking about veneers.
The treatment
What a veneer actually is
A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain, made to fit the front of one tooth and bonded to it. It covers the surface that shows when you smile and leaves the back of the tooth alone. It is a new face on the tooth rather than a new tooth.
Because each one is made in a dental laboratory rather than built up in the chair, the shape and the colour are settled before anything is bonded. You see them and approve them first. That is also why the treatment takes more than one visit.
Veneers are a front-tooth treatment. They are not built for the load a back tooth carries, and a molar that needs covering needs a crown instead.
The part we would rather you heard first
Fitting a veneer usually means removing a thin layer of enamel from the front of the tooth. Without it the veneer sits proud of the tooth and the tooth looks thick.
Enamel does not grow back. Once a tooth has been prepared for a veneer it will need a veneer or a crown on it from then on, and you cannot return to the tooth you had. That is not an argument against veneers. It is the reason this is a decision to take home and sit with. Nobody here will ask you to commit on the day you first ask about it.
Looking after them
Brush and floss as you would normally, and keep up your check-ups. The porcelain itself cannot decay, but the tooth behind it and the gum edge where it meets the tooth can. That margin is where trouble tends to start, and it is what we are looking at when you come in.
Porcelain in a thin section takes ordinary chewing well and a sharp knock badly. The habits that chip natural front teeth (biting packaging, chewing ice, opening things with your teeth) chip veneers more easily. If you grind at night, a guard protects them.
They will not last for ever, and it is fairer to say so than to imply otherwise. A veneer that chips or comes away is remade rather than repaired. Caught early at a routine appointment, that is a straightforward thing to put right.
Good to know
A thin porcelain facing bonded to the front of a tooth
Usually means removing a little enamel, so it is not reversible
Shape and colour approved before anything is bonded
Made in a laboratory, so it takes more than one visit
A front-tooth treatment, not a back-tooth one
What to expect
Four stages, spread over a few visits.
01
Talking it through
You point at what you do not like. We examine the teeth and the gums around them, then say plainly whether a veneer is what fixes it.
02
Preparation
Under local anaesthetic a thin layer of enamel is removed and a scan or impression taken. Temporaries go on while the laboratory works.
03
The laboratory
A technician builds each veneer to the shape and the shade agreed at your preparation visit.
04
Fitting
They are tried in and looked at in daylight before bonding. Say something at that point, because changes afterwards mean remaking.
Candidacy
Are veneers the right answer for you?
Veneers make the most sense when the problem is the surface of several front teeth at once and nothing smaller reaches it. Often there is a smaller answer, and it is worth ruling out first.
Staining that whitening has not shifted.
Front edges worn short over many years.
Small gaps you would rather not wear a brace to close.
The teeth themselves are sound rather than heavily filled or broken.
Your gums are healthy, and nothing else needs treating first.
You are content that removing a little enamel cannot be undone.
“They are so friendly, professional and do not try to push treatments I don't need. I love them!”
Miki Lee · Google review
Common questions
Are veneers reversible if I change my mind?
In most cases, no. Fitting a veneer usually means removing a thin layer of enamel from the front of the tooth so the veneer sits flush rather than looking bulky, and enamel does not grow back. From that point the tooth will need a veneer or a crown on it. That is exactly why we would rather you took the decision home and thought about it than made it in the chair.
Would whitening be enough instead?
Very often it is, and it is the smaller thing to try first. Whitening works on natural enamel and takes nothing away from the tooth, so if the complaint is that your teeth have darkened gradually with age it may get you most of the way there. What it will not do is change the colour of existing crowns, veneers or old white fillings, which stay as they are and can end up looking out of place afterwards.
How long do veneers last?
They are not for life, and anyone who gives you a figure is guessing about a mouth they have not examined. A veneer can chip, or the bond can give way, and when that happens it is remade rather than repaired. How long yours would last depends on your bite, whether you grind, and how well the gum edge behind them is kept clean.
Can I have just one veneer?
Sometimes, and it is a reasonable question to ask. A single dark tooth, often one that has had root canal treatment years ago, can be a sensible case for one veneer. Matching a single new veneer to the natural teeth either side of it is the hard part, though, and that is worth discussing honestly before you start rather than after.
I grind my teeth at night. Does that rule veneers out?
Not automatically, but it is the thing most likely to break them, so it has to be dealt with first rather than mentioned afterwards. Porcelain in a thin section stands up well to ordinary chewing and much less well to grinding. If you do grind, expect a night guard to be part of the conversation, and expect us to say so before any enamel is touched.
Am I too old for veneers?
Age on its own is not the deciding factor. What matters is the state of your gums, how much enamel is left on the teeth in question, and what work those teeth have already had. A heavily filled or broken tooth is usually a crown case rather than a veneer case. Gum recession over the years can also expose the edge of a veneer, which is worth knowing about beforehand.
No obligation
Ask about veneers
Tell us what is going on and we will call you back to arrange a time. If it turns out you need something other than veneers, we will tell you that too.
Prefer to talk now? (480) 547-8034
Not sure what you need?
That's okay.
Many patients come in knowing something isn't right but aren't sure what treatment they need.
We'll start with a conversation and a thorough evaluation. Dr. Sandstrom will explain what he sees, discuss your options, answer your questions, and help you decide what makes sense for you.