Dentist near Avenal, CA explains the benefits of porcelain veneers for your dental health, smile aesthetics

Many cosmetic concerns that affect your smile may be rooted in dental conditions that can damage your oral health. Before Dr. Nikunj Raiyani moves forward with elective procedures to improve your smile, he assures that your teeth and gums are healthy, or restores your oral health with the likes of periodontal treatments. Porcelain veneers, bonding, teeth whitening, and other cosmetic dentistry procedures can make existing oral health problems worse. So, knowing how porcelain veneers are placed and their benefits for your dental health, helps patients appreciate that they leave Hanford Family Dental Center near Avenal CA with a far healthier smile, as well as a stunning one!

Some strictly cosmetic dental concerns can also have farther-reaching consequences for your oral health. Accordingly, the procedures that you initially think are strictly for smile improvement, may have the added benefit of positively impacting your oral health. And a well mouth may be less likely to develop medical conditions ranging from rheumatoid arthritis to heart disease.

Rebuilding healthy tooth structure

Veneers are thin shells of dental porcelain and composite resin that are designed and affixed to the front of the prepared tooth structure. Enamel is the protective outer layer of your tooth. Enamel provides a barrier between the softer, vulnerable inner layers of the tooth and potential damage from the forces sustained by day-to-day chewing, biting, grinding, and clenching. While it’s stronger than bone, enamel is not resistant to damage. Some common causes of enamel damage or erosion include:

• Acids that wear away at the tooth from the outside, in – If teeth aren’t properly brushed, flossed, and professionally cleaned, the sugars and starches in foods and drinks mix with harmful bacteria naturally present in your mouth to produce plaque acids that bathe your teeth, and progressively destroy them without treatment.
• Teeth-grinding, -clenching, and wear and tear – Often, people who are bruxers will involuntarily clench or grind their teeth during sleep. The resulting friction can erode the tooth’s surface. Enamel is also susceptible to damage caused by habits such as chewing ice cubes, biting fingernails, and opening bottles and packages with your teeth.

Enamel damage shows up on your teeth in a variety of ways, including:

• Discoloration – As white enamel wears away, the softer dentin layer underneath is exposed. Since dentin is generally a pale yellow in hue, when enamel erodes, your teeth may appear less white, more lackluster, and stained.
• Cracking and chipping – As the enamel erodes, the edges of your teeth become visibly jagged and uneven.
• Cupping – Another form of wear, indentations or “cups” may form on the surface of the tooth.

Veneers are designed to treat many of the above signs of enamel erosion and much more. Dental porcelain or composite resin is placed over the damaged tooth structure, to cover up very discolored teeth, cracks, chips, and other signs of wear. Veneers are also expertly placed to close gaps, which gives the appearance of more even teeth. When veneers are designed or molded to reshape or to lengthen short teeth, a beautiful symmetry comes to the surface.

Options for diverse budgets, goals

Hanford Family Dental Center patients can benefit from indirect veneers and direct veneers or dental bonding. With indirect veneers, porcelain that is colored, shaped, and sized to your needs by skilled lab technicians are later securely placed on prepared teeth. With direct veneers, Dr. Raiyani prepares composite resin to your unique specifications. This pliable material is then molded to close wide spaces, disguise stubborn discoloration and signs of wear, and to reshape or resize teeth – whatever your needs maybe!

Indirect veneers may be completed in two to three visits, whereas direct veneers or bonding only require a single visit to get the stunning results you desire. Porcelain veneers are stain-resistant, and their ability to replicate the appearance and durability of natural tooth enamel is unmatched. Direct veneers may also be an affordable option for patients who later transition to porcelain veneers. Since the likes of chips and spacing issues make teeth vulnerable to decay, veneers as a replacement for natural tooth enamel help to create not only a more attractive smile but a healthier one.

Call (559) 530-8080 to schedule an appointment at our Hanford office. Dr. Raiyani will evaluate your teeth and talk to you about what you want from smile improvement procedures. From there, other recommendations may also be made, including orthodontic treatments like Six Month Smiles, and inlays, onlays, and full-coverage porcelain crowns.