A smile can become worn and tired looking as teeth become dull and stained. Coffee, cola, tomato sauces, and other food stuffs are known for staining teeth. Fortunately, there are some things your dentist can do to brighten your smile after your teeth have become stained. For instance, you and your dentist may decide to place porcelain veneers over your teeth to restore your bright and white smile. The veneers are made from thin layers of porcelain, or from a resin composite material, that are put over your teeth to change the appearance of each tooth. Here is how your dentist will cover your front teeth with porcelain veneers.

Preparing Teeth

The dentist will first prepare the teeth to be covered by trimming the enamel on the surface of the teeth that will be getting a veneer covering. About a 1/2 millimeter of enamel will be trimmed off the surface of each tooth using a device like a dental bur. A dental bur is the device that sounds like high-pitched drill – the burs on the tool act like sandpaper as the dental bur spins around to trim the enamel. The dentist will then make a mold of your teeth using a material like alginate. The alginate is mixed and poured into a dental tray. You bite down on the alginate while it is in the dental tray to make an impression of your teeth - this impression will be sent to a dental lab to make your veneers.

Installing Veneers

Your dentist will have you come back to their office once they have received your veneers back from the dental lab – making the veneers could take up to a couple of weeks. Your dentist will place the veneers onto your teeth using a temporary bonding agent to see how they fit. Your dentist may have to trim the veneers to make sure they fit properly. Your dentist will permanently bond the veneers to your teeth once your dentist and you are satisfied with how the veneers look. The surface of the teeth will be thoroughly cleaned and polished to remove any debris that might interfere with the ability of the dental cement to bond the veneers to your teeth. The dentist will also etch each tooth to create ridges on the surface – the dental cement fills in the ridges and makes for a stronger bond between the veneers and the teeth. Your dentist will typically use a laser beam to help activate the cement and cause it to quickly harden once he permanently places the veneers over your teeth. The final step will be trimming away any excess cement that might have squeezed out around the veneers.

For more information about the process, contact a company like Staller & Gandel D.D.S.