If you are looking for a cosmetic dental procedure to improve the appearance of your smile, consider dental veneers. These thin, custom-made porcelain shells are attached to the front of the teeth to change their appearance. Your dentist at On Pointe Dentistry can help you achieve a smile you’ll love in Phoenix with this treatment.

How do veneers work?

While dental crowns, another dental procedure commonly used to change the appearance of a smile, completely cover a tooth, cosmetic veneers cover only the front of a tooth. In this way, they can effectively conceal minor flaws and treat issues such as:

• Cracked, chipped, or broken teeth
• Severely stained teeth
• Deformed teeth
• Worn or uneven teeth
• Gaps in teeth
• Teeth alignment issues

Dental veneers offer a versatile yet affordable procedure in cosmetic dentistry. They also offer an advantage over dental crowns in that they require less natural tooth surface to be removed.

Procedure

To have veneers placed in Phoenix, a local anesthetic will be required to minimize pain and discomfort. A small amount of enamel will be removed from the teeth to prepare them to receive the veneers. This will create sufficient room for the veneers to fit. Once this preparation is complete, an impression will be taken of the teeth. A dental laboratory will use these impressions to create the porcelain shells. Temporary veneers will be placed at the end of the first appointment to keep the prepared teeth protected while waiting for the permanent veneers to be created. This will usually take two to four weeks.

When the veneers arrive from the dental lab, a second appointment will be needed to have the temporary veneers removed and the permanent ones bonded. They will first be placed on the teeth to check for the fit and adjustments will be made, if necessary. Then, the prepared teeth will be cleaned, polished, and etched to create a more secure attachment. The veneers will be bonded using a special cement. A special light beam will be used to cure, or harden the cement. The fit and bite of the veneers will be checked to complete the procedure.

The Plus Points of Dental Veneers

One advantage of veneers is that they are so thin and blend in so well with the surrounding teeth that they are virtually unnoticeable. Contact us at On Pointe Dentistry in Phoenix to discuss this treatment.