What To Expect When Getting Veneers
I was always hide my smile. In pictures I would make that smile with no teeth showing. You know. I feel like my teeth was the problem. They was not bad bad, but not good too. If you feel same, this story is for you. I am going to tell you all my veneer story, from the start to the end. We will talk about the good parts, the bad parts, and everything. When you finish, you will know what its really like so you can know if veneers is good for you.
Article Outline
- Why I Was Thinking About Veneers?
- So, What is Veneers? I Tell You.
- Am I a Good Person for This New Smile?
- What Happen at the First Doctor Visit? The ‘Big Talk’.
- Is Getting Veneers Hurt? The Big Question.
- The ‘Not Forever’ Time: What Its Like with Fake Teeth?
- How They Make the Real Veneers? A Look at the Secret.
- The Best Day: Getting Your Forever Smile!
- How I Clean My New Smile?
- Was It Good? My Real Last Thoughts.
Why I Was Thinking About Veneers?
Let’s start from the start. My smile, it was the thing I hated most. I had a little chip on a front tooth from an accident when I was a kid. One more tooth was a little bit crooked. Drinking coffee for years made them not so white. It was not just one big problem. It was many small things together. Everytime I saw a picture of me, I would make it bigger to look at my teeth. It was so tiring.
This feeling started to change my life in little ways. I did not feel good in work meetings. I was shy to laugh loud on dates. It sound silly, but your smile is a first thing people see. When you dont like it, you feel small. You want to hide. I knew I need to do a change. I wanted to feel good about me and not think about my teeth all the time.
Then I start to look at veneers. I saw pictures of famous people with perfect white smiles. I think, can I have that too? The idea was fun but also very scary. It feel like a very big step. A forever one. That is the problem, yes? You want a better smile but how they do it is a big secret with lots of scary parts. I am here for help you understand.
So, What is Veneers? I Tell You.
You probably hear the word “veneers”, but what is they really? Think they are like a nice new cover for your teeth. They are very thin pieces of porcelain or a special plastic stuff. These pieces are made just for you to fit right on the front part of your teeth. They are not like crowns, that cover the whole tooth like a hat. Veneers just cover the front that people see when you smile.
The good thing about veneers is they can fix many problems at one time. You have spots that whitening dont fix? Veneers can cover. You have little chips or cracks? Veneers can hide. Your teeth are a bit crooked or have little spaces? Veneers can make them look perfect straight. It is like you get a new smile right away.
They are made to look and feel like real teeth. The porcelain stuff shines like a real tooth. A good veneers, nobody can tell. They just look like you have a perfect smile from when you was born. This is the answer. They give you a way to get the smile you always wanted and you dont need braces for years or other things.
Am I a Good Person for This New Smile?
This is a very important question. Veneers is great but not for everybody. The first thing your dentist will check is your teeth health. If you have big problems like sick gums or big holes in your teeth, you need fix those first. You can not put a nice cover on a bad base. It like putting a new roof on a house with walls falling down.
Your dentist will also look how you bite. If you push your teeth together hard at night, you might not be a good person for it. Pushing too hard can put much pressure on the thin porcelain pieces and can make them chip or broke. Sometime a dentist will say you should wear a mouth guard at night to keep your veneers safe, but if it is very bad, they may say you should do something else. It is to make sure your new teeth last long time.
The best person for veneers are someone with healthy teeth and gums that want to make their smile look better. Maybe you have a yellow color that won’t go away or some small things that don’t look good, like chips or little spaces. If you want a big change and you will take good care of your new smile, you are doing the right thing. But the only way to know is to talk to a dentist.
What Happen at the First Doctor Visit? The ‘Big Talk’.
Your first visit is the talk. This is where you and your dentist is a team. Dont be shy. This is your time to say what you dont like about your smile and what you want to get. I took pictures of smiles I liked. It helped my dentist to know the look I wanted. We talk about shape, color, and how long they should be.
Your dentist will check everything. They take x-rays and maybe make a shape of your teeth. This help them plan everything good. They will tell you if you are a good person for veneers and what will happen for you. This is also when you should talk money. Be straight. Ask for all the prices so you are not surprise later.
This meeting is for making a plan. My dentist even show me a computer picture of what my new smile can look like. It was so cool to see the ‘after’ picture before we started. It made me feel much better about my choice. A good dentist will listen to you and answer all your questions. If they make you feel fast or dont listen, that is a bad sign. Find a dentist you can trust.
Is Getting Veneers Hurt? The Big Question.
Let’s talk about the big scary thing: pain. The idea of a drill on your teeth make anyone nervous. I was so scared. I think of all bad things. But this is the real truth: it should not be painful. Why? Because you will be numb. Your dentist will use a numbing medicine to make the place they work on have no feeling. You will feel them pushing and the tool shaking, but you should not feel pain.
The first big step is getting the teeth ready. To make space for the thin veneer, your dentist must take off a very small bit of the front of your tooth. It is about half a millimeter. Like how thick your fingernail is. It is a very careful job. My dentist was very nice and keep asking if I was okay. The noise of the drill was more weird than the feeling.
After the visit, when the numbing medicine is gone, you might feel a little sore. Your gums could be a little sore for some days. This is normal. For me, it feel like I chewed gum for too long. I took a pain pill from the store and I was okay. It was much less bad than I thinked in my head. The scary feeling was worse than what really happen.
The ‘Not Forever’ Time: What Its Like with Fake Teeth?
After they get your teeth ready, you dont leave with your teeth looking funny. Your dentist will put not forever veneers on your teeth. They usually make these from a plastic stuff in the office. They are your “test” smile. They protect your ready teeth and let you see how your new smile will feel when they make the real ones.
Living with these fake teeth is a bit funny at first. They will not look as perfect or feel as nice as your real veneers. My fake ones felt a little big. You also have to be careful. They are put on with a weak glue so they can come off easy. This mean you have to not eat very hard or sticky foods. No chewing ice or eating sticky candy. I eated softer foods for two weeks.
This not forever time is important. It let you say what you think. Are the teeth too long? Too short? Is the shape good? You can tell your dentist and they can tell the lab to make changes. Think of it like a practice time. It is a very important step to make sure your real smile is what you want.
How They Make the Real Veneers? A Look at the Secret.
So where your perfect new teeth come from? After your dentist get your teeth ready, they take a very good shape or computer scan. This shape is sent to a special lab. This is not just any lab, it’s a veneer lab where good workers called ceramists do their magic. They are the artists for your smile. They use the shape to make veneers that fit your teeth perfect.
The job is science and art. The worker puts layers of porcelain to make the right shape and color. They add little things to make the veneers look real. They think how light go through them to be like real tooth. Some dentists work with labs in their city, others might use a big place or even a china dental lab that is famous for its work. The important thing is your dentist trust the lab to do good work.
This is why it take some weeks to get your real veneers. Good work need time. The lab follows what your dentist tell them. They make the color you picked and the shape you said okay to. What you get in the end is a set of pretty, special-made porcelain pieces that are ready to be glued forever to your teeth. It is a cool process that makes sure your new smile is only for you.
The Best Day: Getting Your Forever Smile!
This is the visit you waited for. It is time to get your forever veneers. I was so excited I couldn’t sit good. First, the dentist will take off your fake veneers and clean your teeth. Then they will put the real veneers on your teeth one by one to check how they fit and the color. They dont use glue yet, just a bit of water or gel.
This is your last time to check them. The dentist will give you a mirror. Look close. You love them? The color, the shape, how long they are? Now is the time to talk. When they are glued on, it is finished. My dentist was great, he hold a mirror and we look at them from all ways. I loved them. They looked so much more better than the fake ones.
When you say okay, the gluing starts. The dentist will clean your teeth and make them a little rough. This help the glue stick good. Then they put a special tooth glue on the veneer and put it on your tooth. A special bright light is used to make the glue hard very fast. It makes a very strong connection. After that, they clean any extra glue and you are done. You can walk out of there with a new new smile.
How I Clean My New Smile?
Getting a pretty new smile is one thing, keeping it pretty is another. The good news is taking care of veneers is easy. You just treat them like your real teeth. You need to brush two times a day and floss every day. Good mouth cleaning is important. Bad stuff can still grow around the veneers and your gums. Keeping them clean is very important for your teeth health.
Porcelain is very strong and dont get stains, which is great. You dont have to worry about coffee or red wine making spots on your new veneers. But, they are not superman. You should not use your teeth like tools. Dont open bottles or rip packages with your teeth. Dont bite very hard things like bones or hard candy. Just be smart.
You also need to keep going to your dentist for checkups. Your dentist will want to see you for cleanings and checks to make sure your veneers and the teeth under them are healthy. They will use special cleaning paste that is safe for porcelain. If you take good care, your veneers can last a very long time, ten to fifteen years or more. They are a big money thing, so you want to protect them.
Was It Good? My Real Last Thoughts.
So after all that, was it good? For me, the answer is a big yes. The good feeling I got back was so great. I smile all the time now and dont think about it. I laugh bigger. I feel more like me. It was a change that was more than just my teeth. It is crazy how much our feeling about ourself is connected to our smile.
But, I want to be clear. It is a big choice. It cost money and it is a forever change to your teeth. You cannot “un-do” veneers. That is why it is so important to look up information and find a dentist you really trust. Don’t look for the cheapest price. Look for the best work and the best doctor. Look at their before and after pictures. Talk to them. Make sure you feel good.
If you are not happy with your smile and it stops you, veneers could be a thing that changes your life. But it is not magic. You have to be ready for the steps and to take care of them after. If you go in knowing what to expect and have a great dentist team, you can get a smile that makes you happy for many years.
Things to Remember:
- Veneers are thin porcelain pieces that cover the front of teeth to make them look better.
- You must have good teeth health before you get veneers.
- How it works: a talk, getting teeth ready, a not forever time, and then gluing the real veneers.
- Getting veneers should not hurt because your dentist will numb you.
- You need to find a great dentist and a good veneer lab to get the best smile.
- Taking care of veneers is easy: brush, floss, and see your dentist for normal checkups.
- Veneers is a forever choice, so be sure you are ready.
