Can I Get Veneers If I Have Cavities

I remember when I first thinked serious about getting veneers. I looked at an old picture, and all I see was one tooth a little bent and a chip from an accident a long time ago. I dreamed of that perfect, movie star smile. But then a worry pop in my head: “What about that spot my dentist is watching? Is it a hole? Can I even get this done?” Lots of people ask this. You want a nice smile but you worry your tooth problems will stop you. This is for you. We will make it clear and give you a simple answer so you can get the smile you want the right way.

Article Outline

• What Are Veneers, Really?
• And Why Is a Small Cavity a Big Problem?
• So, Can You Put a Veneer on a Tooth With a Hole?
• Why Fixing Cavities First is a Must?
• What Happen if I Have Cavities?
• Will a Filling Change How My Veneer Look?
• Who Say My Teeth are Okay for Veneers?
• How to Keep My Teeth Healthy with Veneers?
• Is Veneers the Only Way for a Better Smile?
• How I Find the Best Dentist for This?

What Are Veneers, Really?

Let’s start from the start. Before we talk problems, we need to know what we want. Think of a veneer like a special-made, very thin cover for your tooth. It is not a full cap or a crown. It is a thin shell, mostly made of porcelain, that your dentist glues to the front of your tooth. It’s just for looks, to make your smile look really great.

I think it is like a magic trick that stay forever. You have a stained tooth that don’t get white? A veneer can cover that. Is there a chip, a crack, or a small space you dont like? A veneer can hide it. Your teeth are a little crooked but you dont want braces for years? Veneers can make it look like you have a perfect straight smile. They are the best way to get that “Hollywood” look because they are made to look very real and shiny.

And Why Is a Small Cavity a Big Problem?

Now, lets talk about the bad guy: the cavity. It is easy to think a cavity is just a small dark spot. A small problem. But really, a cavity is not a spot. It is a hole. It is a place where germs is eating your tooth. It is one of the most common tooth sickness in the world and it gets worse. This means it do not stay small. It grows bigger.

Think of it like a small rust spot on a car. If you don’t do nothing, what happen? It spreads. The rust eats more deep into the metal until the small spot is a big hole. A cavity do the same thing to your tooth. It start on the top but it will dig more deep and more deep. It can go into the soft part inside and then get to the nerve of your tooth. That “little cavity” can become a big, hurting, and costly problem.

So, Can You Put a Veneer on a Tooth With a Hole?

Here is the simple, straight answer you want. No. For sure, no. No good dentist, no right person in this world, will put a veneer on a tooth with a cavity in it. It just don’t happen. Trying to do that is like putting nice new wallpaper on a wall with mold growing on it. It look nice for a short time, but you didnt fix nothing. Really, you just made the problem a lot more worse.

A veneer is sealed on tight. The dentist glues it to your tooth and make a tight seal all around. If there is rot on that tooth when the veneer is put on, you have locked the germs and rot under the veneer. The germs is now in a dark, safe place where they can keep doing bad work and you cant even see. The hole will grow and spread and you wont know until you have a lot of pain. It makes your dream of a perfect smile into a bad dream.

Why Fixing Cavities First is a Must?

I know it’s not fun. You are excited for your new smile and now you have to fix a cavity first. It feel like a wait. But I want you to think it a different way. Fixing the cavity first is not a wait, it is the base. You would not build your dream house on wet, shaky ground, right? No, of course not. You would make sure the base was strong rock first. Your teeth health is the base for any work to make it look good.

If a dentist ignore a cavity and puts a veneer on, you are asking for trouble. The rot will spread under the veneer. Later, it will bring a lot of pain and sickness. The tooth could get so weak that it break. Then you dont just lose your pretty new veneer. You could lose the whole tooth. Fixing the cavity first protects your health, it protects the money you spend, and it makes sure your new smile will last for many years.

What Happen if I Have Cavities?

Okay, so you have a cavity but you still want veneers. Do not worry! What to do next is very simple. It just has one more step at the start. Getting your new smile will just start with making your teeth healthy. A good dentist will give you a simple plan.

First, you will have a visit where your dentist check your teeth and take X-rays. This is where they find any holes or other problems. Next is the fixing part. Your dentist will take out the rot from the tooth and put in a filling. This is a normal thing they do that makes the tooth strong and healthy again. When the filling is done and the tooth is good, you can go on with the veneer part just like everybody else. Your dentist will get the tooth ready, make a copy, and then glue your nice special-made veneer on. It’s that easy. Health first, then pretty.

Will a Filling Change How My Veneer Look?

This is a good question and I had it too. You are thinking, “Okay, I get a filling, but will that dark metal filling show through my new porcelain veneer?” It is a good worry but you can relax. The days of dark metal fillings you can see are mostly gone for front teeth. Now, dentists use great filling stuff that is the same color as your tooth and it mixes in perfect.

Even if you have an old metal filling, your dentist can change it for a tooth-color one before they start the veneer. More important, remember a veneer covers the whole front of the tooth. It is a solid shell of porcelain, you cant see through it. So most times, the filling is on a part of the tooth that the veneer will hide anyway. Your dentist want to give you a perfect look and they know just how to get the tooth ready so nothing shows.

Who Say My Teeth are Okay for Veneers?

This is a job for an expert. The choice if your teeth is ready for veneers is all up to your dentist. This is not something you can or should figure out for yourself. Your dentist is like a ship captain. They need to check the whole ship before they go. They will do a full checkup that is more than just looking for holes.

Your dentist will check if your gums are healthy because you cant get veneers if your gums are sick. They will take X-rays to look for rot between the teeth or problems under your gums. They will check how you bite and how strong your teeth are. Only after this full checkup can they say it is okay. Think of them as your helper and your guard in this. Their job is to make sure your dreams for a nice smile don’t become a tooth health problem.

How to Keep My Teeth Healthy with Veneers?

So you did it. You fixed your cavities, you got your veneers, and your smile look amazing. So now what? Your job is to keep it like that. It’s a thing people think that is not true, that a tooth with a veneer cant get a cavity. That is not true. The porcelain veneer itself cannot rot, but the tooth under it still can. The sides where the veneer and tooth meet are very important spots to keep clean.

How you take care of them now is the same great way you should have been doing all the time. Brush your teeth two times a day with a soft toothbrush and a smooth toothpaste. You have to floss every day to clean between your teeth and around the sides of the veneers. And of course, keep seeing your dentist for normal checkups and cleanings. These easy habits are the best way to protect your pretty new smile and your long-term teeth health.

Is Veneers the Only Way for a Better Smile?

Veneers are a great fix, but they are not the only way. It’s always good to know your choices. It depends on your own problems and your money, there might be other things that work for you. Your dentist is the best person to talk about this with, but it is smart to know a little before you talk.

For small chips or little spaces, a thing called dental bonding could be a great choice. It cost less than veneers and you can often get it done in one visit. If your big problem is just the color of your teeth, professional teeth whitening could give you the shiny smile you want without any fixes. For a tooth with a very big filling or is very broken, a full crown might be a better and more strong fix than a veneer. A good dentist will show you all the good choices, not just the one that cost the most money.

How I Find the Best Dentist for This?

Finding the right dentist is maybe the most important part of all this. You are not just looking for any dentist, you are looking for a dentist who has a good eye for what looks nice and has done a lot of work making teeth look good. This is not the time to look for the cheapest price. You are paying for art that will be on your face.

Start by looking for dentists that talk a lot about making smiles pretty on their websites. Look at their pictures of work they did. Does the work look good? Does it look real? Read what other people say online about them. When you go for a visit, ask them hard questions. Ask how many veneers they do in a year. Ask them what kind of veneer lab they use. A great dentist will have a good connect with a top veneer lab, maybe a good local one like an arch dental lab or even a big international china dental lab that is known for its good-looking work. A dentist who is happy with their work will be glad to tell you all about how they do it and who they work with.

Things to Remember

• Health is First: You can get veneers if you have cavities, but you must fix the cavities first. Always.
• A Cavity is a Hole: It is not just a spot. It’s rot that will get more worse if you cover it.
• Your Dentist is Your Helper: Trust your dentist to do a full check and help you get a healthy, pretty smile the right way.
• Fillings Don’t Show: New fillings that are tooth-colored will not show through your new porcelain veneers.
• Taking Care is a Must: After you get veneers, you still need to brush, floss, and get checkups to protect the tooth under it.
• You Have Choices: Veneers are great, but talk about all your choices like bonding or whitening with your dentist to find what is best for you.