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Advanced cosmetic and general dentistry

Pregnant and Thinking About Porcelain Veneers? 5 Facts to Know Before Asking Your Dentist for Them

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A smile makeover with porcelain veneers can be lifechanging. But what if you’re concerned that after you have the baby, you’ll have little time to focus on dental esthetics? Is it okay to receive porcelain veneers while you’re pregnant? Consider the facts.

1. Timing

During the first trimester, your baby is rapidly developing and sensitive to foreign substances. After that time, there is minimal risk of the baby being affected by dental treatment. If you have a dental emergency that requires immediate attention, find a cosmetic dentist to discuss your treatment options.

2. X-rays

Before you receive porcelain veneers, your dentist will x-ray your teeth to determine if they are healthy and to determine if veneers are the right treatment for you. Modern digital dental x-rays emit a very low dosage of radiation. A single x-ray should not affect the growing baby.

3. Anesthesia

Local anesthesia ensures you’re comfortable as your dentist prepares your teeth for porcelain veneers. Are you anxious about dental appointments? If so, sedation dentistry is available. Many expecting mothers who have dental anxiety and need sedation decide to wait until the baby is born to receive treatment.

4. Your Gums

Your body is more sensitive when you’re pregnant. Care must be taken with veneer placement to ensure your gums are not irritated. Otherwise, they can become infected, and an untreated infection will spread. It’s essential to find a skilled cosmetic dentist who will precisely prepare your teeth and place the veneers to prevent lingering gum irritation.

5. Your Comfort

Dental treatment can create anxiety for some people. Also, consider your comfort during pregnancy in the following situations:

  • if you’re in the dental chair for extended periods
  • the number of visits required to receive porcelain veneers
  • your general anxiety level about receiving cosmetic changes

It’s best to limit your stress during pregnancy.

Schedule a Porcelain Veneers Consultation

Schedule a consultation with a cosmetic dentist to discuss your options for porcelain veneers and to learn what you can expect throughout the process.

You can expect great results with porcelain veneers from a cosmetic dentist.

 

Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek sponsors this blog post.

Thinking About Sectional Veneers for Your Teeth? 3 Reasons Not to Insist on Them

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Are you thinking about asking your dentist for sectional veneers to restore your teeth? Some skilled cosmetic dentists use this innovative treatment. But how do you know if it’s right for you? And should you insist that your dentist uses it?

Sectional Veneers vs. Porcelain Veneers

A porcelain veneer is a thin shell of porcelain that covers the entire front surface of a tooth. Porcelain is also used to make a sectional veneer, but it only covers the portion of a tooth that needs restoring—not the entire front surface.

When Are They Used?

Some cosmetic dentists use sectional veneers to correct small or minor issues on teeth, including:

  • Small gaps
  • Small chips
  • Minor cracks or fractures

Sectional veneers preserve more of your natural tooth structure and require very minimal preparation of a tooth. If there is significant damage to a tooth, an entire porcelain veneer might be required.

Which Veneers Should You Request?

Before you ask your dentist for any cosmetic treatment, you should wait until you receive a diagnosis and explanation of your treatment options. Several factors affect whether or not your dentist will recommend sectional veneers or porcelain veneers.

1. The Condition of Your Teeth

The condition of your teeth and gums, the extent of damage to them, and the goals you want to achieve for your smile all affect treatment recommendations. Your dentist will examine and x-ray your teeth to make a thorough evaluation of the external and internal condition of your teeth. He or she will let you know if porcelain veneers—or sectional veneers—are an option.

2. Your Dentist’s Experience and Preference

Only highly skilled cosmetic dentists can produce beautiful results with porcelain veneers. And experienced cosmetic dentists work with private laboratories and skilled ceramists who understand how to manipulate porcelain to give you lifelike results. Many cosmetic dentists don’t offer sectional veneers at all. Their experience, preferences, and each patient case affect which treatment they recommend. Experienced cosmetic dentists often prefer cosmetic resin as the first choice in concealing minor flaws in teeth. And they achieve beautiful, long-lasting results.

3. Your Risks

So although you can ask a dentist for any treatment, you should wait until you understand the condition of your teeth and the results you can expect from your treatment options. If you’re determined to receive a certain type or brand of veneers, only receive them from a dentist who regularly uses them. Otherwise, you might be dissatisfied with the results.

What Matters Most

If you want excellent results and a natural-looking smile, search for accredited cosmetic dentists in your area. Accreditation requires a dentist to pass oral and written exams and submit several cosmetic cases of varying complexity. Accredited dentists have proven their ability to give you gorgeous results. And after all, isn’t a gorgeous smile what you want?

 

Accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek of Lowell, MA, sponsors this blog. Visit Dr. Szarek’s smile gallery to see examples of his artwork.

Before-and-after porcelain veneers photos of one of Dr. Szarek’s patients.

Close-up smile photo before a patient received porcelain veneers from Michael Szarek, DMD of Lowell, MA.

BEFORE

Close-up smile photo after a patient received porcelain veneers from Michael Szarek, DMD of Lowell, MA.

AFTER

Porcelain veneers have ruined my teeth

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I hate that I got porcelain veneers. My teeth are ruined. They are too everything wrong – too wide, too long, too white, and too thick. There is nothing that I like about them. I keep thinking back about what went wrong. These are not the veneers I tried on and now they are stuck to my teeth. I am miserable about the thousands of dollars that I spent on this disappointment. My dentist kept telling me that I would get used to my veneers and eventually like them. It has been 4 months, and I am still just as disappointed as I was the day they were bonded on. Can this be reversed? – Genesis

Genesis – We are truly sorry to hear about your experience with porcelain veneers. Many general dentists are willing to provide you with a smile makeover although they only complete a few cases a year. That’s not enough experience to provide you with beautiful results.

After your teeth are prepared and the veneers are bonded to them, the process cannot be reversed. Only a minimal amount of your tooth enamel should have been removed in preparation for veneers. But many dentists who are not smile-makeover artists often remove too much enamel. In either case, your tooth enamel cannot be replaced, and it won’t regenerate. Your smaller-than-normal natural teeth are without sufficient enamel and can’t remain exposed without some type of cosmetic dentistry treatment to protect them.

How Can Your Porcelain Veneers Mistake Be Corrected?

We highly recommend that you schedule a consultation with an accredited cosmetic dentist. If there isn’t one in your immediate area, it might be to your advantage to find one within a reasonable distance. An accredited cosmetic dentist has passed written and oral exams and submitted patient cases to demonstrate proficiency in designing beautiful smiles with porcelain veneers and other forms of cosmetic dentistry. What will a cosmetic dentist do?

  • Examine your porcelain veneers.
  • Examine your teeth.
  • Determine how much tooth enamel was removed.
  • Explain your options.

New porcelain veneers

In most cases, the only solution is to receive new porcelain veneers. As the photos below show, a skilled cosmetic dentist can produce lifelike results.

  • Porcelain veneers before photo of a woman's smile is discolored and brown, but was restored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek.
    PORCELAIN VENEERS BEFORE
  • Porcelain veneers after photo of a woman's smile that was restored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek.
    PORCELAIN VENEERS AFTER

Composite veneers

If only minimal amounts of tooth enamel were removed from your natural teeth, it is possible that composite veneers can be applied instead of porcelain veneers. But that’s a decision that should be left to your cosmetic dentist. Although composite bonding can be less expensive than porcelain veneers, there are several disadvantages if you want long-lasting results:

  • Composite veneers are not as durable and will need to be replaced every ten years or so. If you take good care of veneers, they can last 20 years or more.
  • Composite will stain, while porcelain veneers are stain resistant.
  • Depending on how much chairside time is required to complete them, composite veneers can be almost as expensive as porcelain veneers.

Although most dentists don’t provide composite veneers, a highly skilled cosmetic dentist like Dr. Szarek can produce beautiful results with bonding.

  • Dental bonding before photo of mottled, yellow, and uneven teeth that were restored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek.
    DENTAL BONDING BEFORE
  • Dental bonding after photo of a smile that was restored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek.
    DENTAL BONDING AFTER

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.

Dull or Stained Porcelain Veneers? 5 Tips for Treatment and Prevention

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If you take good care of them, porcelain veneers can last 15 to 20 years or longer. But what if your veneers look dull or are stained? A skilled cosmetic dentist might be able to help.

Polishing Dull or Stained Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers can be polished to a gloss similar to their original glaze. But your dentist must have the specialized tools, materials, and training to achieve the correct results. Otherwise, your veneers can be permanently damaged.

What’s Involved?

The right tools and materials

Photo of dental forceps holding a single porcelain veneers, from the office of accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek of Lowell, MA.
Regular maintenance will keep luster in your porcelain veneers

Polishing porcelain requires your dentist to use a combination of specific tools and materials that are designed for use on dental restorations.  Some tools and materials might include:

  • Polishing instruments for use on dental ceramics
  • Ultra-fine polishing strips
  • Ultra-fine polishing paste

Maintenance

Porcelain veneers require maintenance to keep their luster. If you schedule regular polishing visits with an experienced cosmetic dentist, it can prolong the life and beauty of your veneers. Any accumulation of stains or dullness on your veneers will be minor if they are properly maintained.

Preventive care

What can you do to keep your porcelain veneers bright?

Avoid abrasive toothpaste – This includes whitening toothpaste that is not designed for use on porcelain veneers. Whitening toothpastes are abrasive and can scratch the surface of porcelain veneers. The tiny scratches will attract stains.

Use a soft bristle toothbrush – Soft bristles will gently clean your porcelain veneers and prevent scratches on the surface.

Use alcohol-free mouthwash – Alcohol can soften and loosen the bonding of your porcelain veneers. Fluid or bacteria can leak behind the veneers and cause staining or decay.

What’s Next?

A family or general dentist who does not regularly place porcelain veneers won’t have the proper tools and materials to enhance the appearance of your veneers. If your porcelain veneers need to be polished, seek the advice of a trained cosmetic dentist. He or she will examine your veneers and let you know the results you can expect.

This post is sponsored by Dr. Michael Szarek, a Lowell, MA dentist and accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Read our October 2019 post about what can cause porcelain veneers to lose their shine.

4 Challenges of Using Porcelain Veneers for Tetracycline Stains

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Concealing tetracycline stains in teeth is one of the most challenging issues a dentist will ever face. But a highly skilled cosmetic dentist can conceal the stains with porcelain veneers and provide natural-looking results.

What Causes Tetracycline Stains in Teeth?

The stains develop due to taking tetracycline, an antibiotic, during childhood while permanent teeth are forming. Grayish brown stains become deeply embedded in teeth and cause them to look very dark.

Why Is Concealing the Stains So Challenging?

Although the stains can be concealed with porcelain veneers, there are challenges:

  1. Natural teeth have translucency, and porcelain needs to have this same quality to look lifelike.
  2. Tetracycline stains can easily show through translucent veneers.
  3. In an effort to conceal tetracycline stains, a dentist or laboratory technician might make porcelain veneers too opaque. The result is chalky looking teeth.
  4. Due to lack of experience with concealing the stains, some dentists cover only the fronts of teeth. The dark color from the stains can be seen on the edges of teeth.

Achieving the Best Results with Porcelain Veneers

  • Photo of dental forceps holding a single porcelain veneers, from the office of accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek of Lowell, MA.
    Porcelain veneer

Skillful color manipulation is needed to provide natural-looking results. We recommend that you visit a dentist who is accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry or a dentist who can show you photographs of his or her own work on a patient’s teeth that had tetracycline stains.

Your treatment plan should include a try-in of the porcelain veneers before they are bonded to your teeth. Otherwise, you should request the try-in to ensure your investment is worthwhile and the results look natural. If you have any hesitation about the look of the veneers—if the tetracycline stains are showing through them—don’t accept them. The dentist and his or her laboratory need to ensure your veneers look natural.

A family dentist who is not skilled in aesthetics will likely offer you porcelain crowns to conceal tetracycline stains. But this treatment requires significant removal of tooth structure on every tooth that needs a crown. Porcelain veneers are more conservative, and a cosmetic dentist can produce beautiful results.

You can schedule consultations with at least two cosmetic dentists who will briefly look at your teeth and discuss the possibilities for concealing the tetracycline stains with porcelain veneers. A full exam will be needed to accurately explain your options and provide a treatment estimate.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA dentist Dr. Michael Szarek—an accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.