How Are Dental Veneers Applied

I did not like my smile. It was not so bad, but not good. One of my front tooth have a chip because I was a kid and had a accident. My teeths was a little squished together, and drinking coffee for many year made them not so white. In pictures, I smiled with my mouth shut. When I was in a meeting, talking about something important, I always thinked, "They are looking at my teeth?" I was always worried about it. If you ever feel like this, you know it takes away your good feeling about yourself. This story is for you. I will tell you all about getting dental veneers, every step, just like it happen to me. I will make the scary parts not scary and show you how this one thing I did change how I feel about me.

First, What Exactly Are Dental Veneers Anyway?

Think of a dental veneer like a new, perfect face for your tooth. It is a very skinny shell, made from porcelain stuff, and they make it special to fit on the front of your tooth. Like, if you has a nice wood floor with some marks and spots on it. You can try to fix it, but a more easy way is to put a new pretty floor on top. That’s what veneers does for your teeths. They don’t take your whole tooth away. They just gives it a new front that look perfect.

These little shells is amazing and can fix a lot of look problems. You have spots that teeth whitening don’t fix? Veneers covers them. Have little chips or cracks from a long time ago? Veneers make them go away. They can even close little spaces between your teeth or make teeth that are not so straight look very straight. It is a strong tool for dentists to make a smile look all new, and you don’t need braces for years or other hard stuff. It is the secret for all the perfect smiles you see in Hollywood.

The point of a veneer is to look totally real, like your own teeth but more better. They shine light the same way your real tooth does. The color is picked very careful to match your other tooths, or to make your smile more white if you want that. When it’s done good, nobody know you have veneers. They just see you have a great smile.

Am I a Good Candidate for Veneers?

This is the big question, right? You reading this, you are interested, but you thinking, “Is this for me?” The good news is, many peoples are good for veneers. The most importantest thing is you have good `teeth health` all over. Your dentist will want to be sure you don’t got big secret problems. Things like sick gums or bad tooth holes need to be fix first. It’s like painting a house. You don’t put new paint on bad wood. You fix the bottom part first.

So, who is the best person for veneers? It’s a person who is not happy with how their teeth look. Maybe you have chips, cracks, yellow color, little gaps, or teeth that are worn down or have a funny shape. You must to have enough of the healthy hard part, the enamel, on your teeth, because they take a little bit off to make space for the veneer. Also, you have to promise to do good oral hygiene. Veneers are strong, but you still must brush them and floss them like your normal teeths.

Now, sometime veneers are not the best idea. If you grind your teeth very hard or clench them, you could broke the porcelain. Your dentist might give you a thing to wear at night to protect them, but it’s something to think about. If your teeth is very crooked or your bite is wrong, things like braces or Invisalign maybe are a better thing to do first. Veneers can’t fix all the things. They are for looks, not to fix big `dental diseases` or big problems with how your teeth line up. The only way to know for sure is have a real talk with your dentist.

What Happens at the First Consultation?

I remember my first meeting good. I was nervous and excited too. I walked in, I sit in the chair, and my dentist started with a easy question: “So, what you don’t like about your smile?” That’s how it start. This first time is not about drills or work. It is a talk. It’s your chance to show the things that bother you and say what you want your smile to look like. You can bring pictures if you want!

Your dentist will listen good and then do a big check of your teeth and gums. They might take some X-rays and maybe make a copy, or a mold, of your teeth. This give them a perfect model of your teeth now. They will talk with you about what can be did. They’ll talk about the shape, the size, and the color for the veneers. This is a job you do together. You and your dentist are making your new smile together.

This is also the time to ask all the questions you have. Ask how much it cost. Ask how long it take. Ask what stuff they use. A good dentist will be happy to answer all things and make you feel very comfortable. They will tell you the good parts and bad parts and make sure you know what will really happen. You should leave that first meeting feeling like you know a lot, feeling good, and excited for the plan you made together. If you not feel that way, it is okay to ask another dentist.

How Do They Prepare Your Teeth for Veneers?

Okay, let’s talk about the part that make people feel a little sick: getting the teeth ready. I won’t lie, I was worried when I thinked they would “shave” my teeth. But it was not so big and scary like I thinked. The plan is to take off a very, very skinny layer of the front of the tooth, the enamel. We are talking about half a millimeter, that’s like how thick a contact lens or a eggshell is. It’s almost nothing.

Why they do this? It’s for two big reasons. First, it make the best surface for the veneer to stick to, so it is super strong. Second, and this is more important, it makes space for the veneer. If the dentist just sticked the veneer on your tooth with no prep, it would look and feel too big and not real. When they take off that little layer, the veneer can sit flat with your other teeth, and it look smooth and real.

The best part is you don’t feel nothing. The dentist will make the area all numb before they start. You will be awake, but you won’t feel no pain. You might hear the tool sound and feel some shaking, but that’s all. For me, it was done so fast. The dentist worked quick and good. When they was done, my teeth did not look like little stumps or nothing scary. They just looked not so shiny. The hardest part of that day was just keeping my mouth open.

Where Do the Veneers Actually Come From?

After your teeth are ready and your dentist take a last, very good copy of them, you are done for a few weeks. But the real art work is starting. Your dentist don’t have a box of veneers in the back. They send that copy, and all the notes about the color and shape you picked, to a special dental laboratory. This is where your new smile get born.

These labs has people with a lot of skill called ceramists. They are like artists for teeth. They use your copy to build your veneers one layer at a time, many times by hand. It’s a job you have to do very careful and see all the little things. They work to make veneers that are not just the right shape and color, but also look a little see-through and have the feel of real teeth. A very good `veneer lab` can be the difference between a smile that look good and a smile that look really amazing and real.

Some dentists works with a local `arch dental lab` they trust for a long time. Others might use labs from far away that are famous for some special skill. I even hear that sometimes they scan the copy and send it to a fancy `china dental lab` that is very good with new porcelain kinds. The point is, your veneers is not made in a factory. They are special art pieces, made just for you by a expert.

What Are Temporary Veneers Like?

You don’t leave the dentist office with your new prepped, sensitive teeth out in the open. That would feel bad! Before you go home, your dentist will fit you with some temporary veneers. They usually make these right there in the office from a plastic stuff. They do a few very important jobs.

First, they protect your ready teeth so they dont feel sensitive to hot and cold. Second, they let you live your normal life. You can eat, talk, and smile and not worry what people think. Third, and this is the cool part, they give you a little look of what your new smile will be. They are a “test drive” for your teeth. My temporaries was not as perfect or shiny as the last porcelain ones, but seeing them in the mirror was a big thing for me. I could already see how good it can be, and that was so exciting.

You have to be a bit careful with the temporaries. The glue they use to hold them is not as strong as the last one. Your dentist will tell you not to eat very hard or sticky foods. So no chewing ice, biting hard apples, or eating chewy candy for a couple weeks. It’s a little thing to do. For me, this time went by fast because I was so excited for the last appointment.

How is the Final Fitting and Bonding Done?

This is the day you been waiting for—the big end! When you come for your last fitting, you will feel so excited. The first thing your dentist will do is take off your temporary veneers easy and clean your teeth very good. Then, one by one, they will put your new, forever porcelain veneers on your teeth to check if they fit and the color is right.

They use a temporary gel made with water to hold them on for now. This is your time to be the last checker. Your dentist will give you a mirror and ask what you really think. You love the color? The shape is right? Your bite feel okay? Don’t be shy! This is your last chance to ask for little changes. I remember I looked in the mirror and was just, wow. They was perfect.

When you say it’s okay, the magic happen. The dentist will take the veneers off one more time, clean your teeth and make them a little rough so they have a strong grip, and then put on a special glue. They put the veneer back on, and when it’s in the perfect spot, they use a special strong light. This light make the glue get hard in seconds and it make a super strong, for ever stick between your tooth and the veneer. They do this for all the tooth, clean up extra glue, and you’re done. You walk out of the office with a new, forever, and beautiful smile.

Does Getting Veneers Hurt? The Honest Answer.

This is maybe the number one question everyone has, and I had it too. The short, honest answer is: no, not so much. The whole thing is much more comfortable than most peoples think. When they prepare your tooth, that is the only part that could be not comfortable, your dentist will use medicine to make your teeth and gums all numb. You won’t feel no pain when they do the work. I felt some shaking and the feeling of water spray in my mouth, but zero pain.

After the numb medicine go away, you might feel a little sensitive. Your teeth had their outside layer made skinny, and your gums might be a little sore from the work. For me, it felt like the sensitive feeling you get after a professional teeth cleaning. Some tooths was a little sensitive to cold air or cold drinks for a day or two. It was easy to fix with pain medicine you buy at the store, like ibuprofen. After three days, I feeled totally normal.

The last appointment to glue them on is more easy. There’s no drill and usually no need for any numb medicine. There is no pain to try on the veneers or to stick them to your teeth. The whole thing was not bad at all. Don’t let being scared of pain stop you from looking at this. The small sensitive feeling for a short time is a tiny, little price to pay for a smile that will make you happy for many years.

How Do You Take Care of Your New Veneers?

So, you spent the money and you have a beautiful new smile. You want to keep it like that for a long, long time, right? The good news is that taking care of veneers is very simple. Really, you take care of them almost the same like you should be taking care of your real teeth. There’s no hard new thing to learn.

Every day, you should brush minimum two times a day and floss one time a day. It is important to use a toothpaste with fluoride that is not rough and a soft toothbrush. Brushing too hard or with a sandy toothpaste could scratch the porcelain after a long time. Flossing is very important to keep the gums around the veneers healthy, and that is how they last long. You can’t get a hole on the porcelain, but you can still get one on the parts of your tooth that is not covered.

You should also keep seeing your dentist for regular check-ups and cleanings, like you always did. More than that, the main thing is to be smart. Porcelain is very strong, but you can broke it. Don’t use your teeth like a tool to open bags or bite your fingernails. Be careful when you bite very hard things like ice, bones, or nut shells. If you play sports where you can get hit, wear a mouthguard. Just treat them with the same care you would treat perfect real teeth, and they will be beautiful for a very long time.

Was It All Worth It? My Final Thoughts.

I want to finish this by answering the one big question: was it worth it? For me, the answer is yes, for sure, 100 percent yes. It was one of the best things I ever did for me. The change was not just on the outside. Yes, my smile look a million times more better, and people say nice things about it. But the real change was inside me.

You remember that little voice in my head, the one that worried about my teeth in meetings and made me hide my smile? It’s gone. I don’t think on my teeth no more. I just talk, laugh, and smile with no worries. The good feeling that gives me has go into every part of my life, at home and at work. It’s a feeling of being free that is hard to put a price on. It costed time and money, but what I got back is so big you can’t even measure it.

If you are hiding your smile, if you feel that bad worry when you look in the mirror, I really think you should at least look into this. Go have that first talk with a dentist. It cost you nothing to get information. It might not be the right thing for every person, but for me, it was the way to feeling like the best me. And that is worth all the things.

Key Takeaways to Remember

• Veneers are special skinny shells that go over the front of your teeth to fix look problems like chips, spots, and gaps.
• It takes two big appointments: one for a talk and getting teeth ready, and a second for the last fitting and gluing.
• It is not a painful thing to do. The area is numb when they work, and if it feel sensitive after, it is usually not bad and go away fast.
• Your new smile is made by an artist. The copy of your teeth are sent to a smart person in a special `veneer lab` who builds them just for you.
• Care is easy. Brush, floss, and see your dentist like normal, just like for real teeth, so your beautiful smile last for many years.