accredited dentist porcelain veneers Archives - Lowell Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

3 Reasons Porcelain Veneers Can Lose Their Shine and How to Get the Gloss Back

Posted on October 28, 2019 by AllSmiles.

Have your porcelain veneers lost their shine? If your veneers are new, it’s unusual for them to lose their gloss. There are a few possible causes of the change in the appearance of your smile.

Dental Tools or Chemicals

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

Porcelain veneers are harder than tooth enamel

Porcelain veneers are harder than tooth enamel. A substance must be extremely abrasive to dull the gloss on your teeth. Although toothpaste is abrasive, it is unlikely to cause your veneers to lose their shine. But dental tools and chemicals can damage them. A hygienst who has been trained in how to care for porcelain veneers knows which instruments and substances to use.

Power polishing equipment – Dental hygienists use specific instruments, including the prophy jet, that will blast the glaze off veneers and cause them to dull.

Some fluoride treatment – Some fluoride contains hydrofluoric acid, which will etch porcelain, dull the surface of your veneers, and cause them to stain.

Your Veneers Might Not Be Porcelain at All

If your veneers are made of dental composite—not porcelain—they are much more likely to stain. Several substances will scratch composite, including:

Abrasive toothpaste – As you brush your teeth, the toothpaste will create tiny scratches on the composite, which attract stains.
Polishing pumice – At the end of professional dental cleaning, most hygienists use polishing pumice to make your teeth shine. The abrasive polish doesn’t harm tooth enamel, but it can scratch composite veneers.
Alcohol-based mouthwash – Alcohol softens dental composite and makes it easy to get scratched and stain.

How to Care for Your Porcelain Veneers

Brush them with a non-abrasive toothpaste, and floss between them.
Don’t use your teeth to bite or open hard objects.
Ensure you receive dental cleanings from a hygienist who is trained to care for porcelain veneers. He or she knows which dental tools to use—and which tools to avoid—to maintain the luster of your smile.
Visit a cosmetic dentist who will safely polish your veneers and give them a glossy shine.

What Can You Do If Your Veneers are Already Stained?

Schedule an appointment for an exam with an advanced cosmetic dentist to determine the cause of your dull porcelain veneers. Look at a few cosmetic dentist’s websites to read about their training and experience. You’ll receive the best results from an accredited cosmetic dentist.

A cosmetic dentist might be able to polish your veneers to improve their appearance. If not, he or she will explain your options. If your porcelain veneers are permanently damaged, they will need to be replaced to regain your bright smile.

This post is sponsored by accredited cosmetic dentist Michael Szarek, DMD. His Lowell, MA office is conveniently located near Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Billerica, Pelham, Westford, and Andover.

4 Top Causes of Swollen Gums After Getting Porcelain Veneers

Posted on September 23, 2019 by AllSmiles.

Porcelain veneers must be correctly bonded and placed

Are swollen gums detracting from your porcelain veneers and your smile? What’s causing the gum irritation? Some possibilities are listed below. And we’ll explain what you do about it.

1. Excess cement

When your porcelain veneers are bonded on, the dentist should clean off any excess before it hardens. Otherwise, it can get beneath your gumline and cause irritation and swelling. Dentists who don’t place a lot of porcelain veneers often fail to remove the excess cement. Advanced cosmetic dentists cure the cement in the middle of the tooth and remove the excess while it is still soft.

2. Wearing temporary veneers too long

If you wear temporary veneers for an extended period, it can cause gum irritation and inflammation. When your dentist removes the temporary veneers, the inflammation can make it difficult to bond on your porcelain veneers.

3. Messy margins

A dentist should precisely place veneers at your gumline. A fit that’s less than precise can irritate your gums, cause them to swell, and promote infection. If a veneer is too far away from your gumline, bacteria can leak in and cause infection. But if it is too far beneath your gumline, it will rub and cause irritation and inflammation.

4. Sensitivity or allergies

An allergy or sensitivity to porcelain is rare. But if you react to the dental ceramic, your gums can be irritated. Some patients choose to schedule an appointment with an allergist for testing.

What’s the solution?

Ask acquaintances or family members for a recommendation of a cosmetic dentist—preferably accredited—in your area. Otherwise, you can search online to find a cosmetic dentist. Look for his or her training, experience, and credentials in cosmetic dentistry. Schedule an appointment for a second opinion for an exam of your veneers and gumline.

A highly skilled cosmetic dentist will determine the cause of the irritation and explain your options.

This post is sponsored by Michael Szarek, DMD, an accredited cosmetic dentist in Lowell, MA. Dr. Szarek guarantees his work.

Porcelain veneers have ruined my teeth

Posted on May 6, 2019 by AllSmiles.

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
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
DENTAL BONDING AFTER

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

Love Ariana Grande’s Smile? 3 Things to Know Before Asking Your Cosmetic Dentist for a Makeover

Posted on August 30, 2018 by AllSmiles.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande is one of the most followed celebrities on social media. And millions of girls say they love Ariana Grande’s smile. While it’s not realistic for fans to become patients of Ms. Grande’s cosmetic dentist, many of them want to know how they can get a smile like Ari’s. What’s the attraction?

Cosmetic Dentistry for a Perfectly Imperfect Smile

Many people who want a smile makeover ask their cosmetic dentist for perfectly even, perfectly symmetrical, perfectly white teeth. But that’s not what Ari’s smile is about. Her central incisors (front center teeth) are noticeably longer than her surrounding teeth. And the teeth on either side of her smile lack perfect shape. Her smile is bright, but not stark white. Youthful girls like the look of Ariana Grande’s teeth because they are different and natural looking, and fans want to copy it. But what should you know before asking your dentist for a smile makeover that will resemble that of your favorite celeb?

1. It Starts With a Consultation

If you’re thinking about changing your smile, it is highly recommended that you schedule a consultation with at least two accredited cosmetic dentists. Why an accredited cosmetic dentist? There are several reasons:

Before applying for accreditation, a dentist has completed extensive post-graduate training in cosmetic dentistry and has years of experience in the field.
Accreditation requires very high levels of clinical skill.
Written and oral examinations and extensively documented patient cases are required by applicants.
Highly aesthetic results are only produced by dentists who are artists and understand the tools and techniques required to achieve the results you want. Accredited cosmetic dentists are accomplished artists.

2. What to Expect

A cosmetic dentist will listen to your smile goals and provide the following input:

How the smile you want can be achieved
Digital models of how you’ll look with your new smile
How your facial structure and genetics will affect your desired results
Suggestions for a smile design that will really compliment your facial features—whether it looks similar to Ariana Grande’s smile or is an expression of your own personality
An explanation of the cosmetic dentistry options for your smile makeover, which might involve a combination of treatments

3. Which Cosmetic Dentistry Treatment Will Be Used?

If you want a look that resembles Ariana Grande’s smile—or one that is authentically yours—the treatment you receive will vary based on your oral health, the condition, and shape of your teeth, and of course, your budget. Treatment might include one or more of the following:

Porcelain Veneers – Customized thin wafers of porcelain are bonded to the front of your teeth. Often, your teeth must be prepared for porcelain veneers so they look natural from the gumline to the edge. Porcelain mimics natural teeth, and an accredited cosmetic dentist can produce stunning results with it.
Dental Bonding – Cosmetic dental bonding is less expensive than porcelain veneers, but it doesn’t last as long. Still, a dentist who is an artist understands how to manipulate bonding so the color, shape, and gloss look natural. In time, bonding picks up stains and needs to be periodically polished by your cosmetic dentist and eventually replaced so it stays fresh and vibrant.
Teeth Whitening – Teeth whitening is recommended before you receive veneers or dental bonding. The cosmetic work is then crafted to match the shade of your newly whitened teeth.
Contouring – The skilled hands of an artistic, accredited cosmetic dentist can contour, or shape, your teeth into the desired look.

Interested in a Smile Makeover?

If you want to transform your smile with cosmetic dentistry, don’t schedule an appointment with a dentist and insist on a certain look or treatment. Schedule a consultation with an accredited cosmetic dentist to discuss your goals, your options, and the results you can expect. You will get amazing results that just might give Ariana Grande’s smile a little competition.

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

If you’re interested in new trends in cosmetic dentistry, read about San Diego Bioclear—a technique that improves tooth shape, spacing, and color.

How long should porcelain veneers last?

Posted on March 14, 2018 by AllSmiles.

Porcelain veneers are bonded to your teeth

I got 6 porcelain veneers in June 2012 when I lived in Chicago. At first, I was pretty happy with them except they didn’t look as white as I wanted. I got my teeth whitened BEFORE I got veneers and the veneers are not quite as white as my teeth. Anyway, everything was going well until the veneers started chipping in last summer. There is a little chip on my right incisor and a small one on my right front tooth. I called the dentist’s office where I got the veneers (I now live in MA) and she told me that it’s probably time to replace the veneers. I was furious. At $1200 per veneer and not even 6 years later, she tells me I probably need to replace them. I asked her how long veneers should last and she told me that the brand I chose (I didn’t choose the brand. I know nothing about how to choose a brand of porcelain veneers.) is known for chipping. First I am wondering how after 6 years she even remembers what brand I have and why she is lying about it being my choice. So I am guessing that there is another issue that she is not going to talk about. Shouldn’t porcelain veneers last longer than 6 years? Ceyda

Ceyda,

Yes, porcelain veneers should last longer—much longer—than six years. If quality veneers are properly bonded to your teeth, and if you take proper care of them, they can last 15 to 20 years. You are nowhere near the lifecycle of quality veneers, so quality must be the issue.

Brand – It is possible that the dentist who placed your veneers chose an inferior brand. That occurs sometimes to keep costs down and make getting veneers more enticing for patients. But as you have experienced, if they don’t last, what good is it?
Bonding – Another possibility is that your veneers were not correctly bonded to your teeth. It takes a lot of skill and the expertise of a highly trained cosmetic dentist to bond veneers to last. If they are poorly bonded or weak, they can chip.

Unfortunately, you probably do need new veneers. This time find an experienced cosmetic dentist in your area. If you can find one who is accredited, or who has extensive training in aesthetic or cosmetic dentistry, it will help you get amazing results. Select a few top cosmetic dentists first, have consultations with them, and compare your options before you select a provider for your new veneers.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.