Lowell porcelain veneers Archives - Lowell Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

What to Expect With Porcelain Veneers on Front Teeth With Fillings

Posted on May 31, 2020 by AllSmiles.

I’ve decided to get veneers this summer, but I wonder what to expect on my two front teeth, which have fillings in them. Will veneers hold to teeth that have extensive fillings? Or should I consider another treatment? Thanks. Nadia from Bridgeport, CT

Nadia,

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

A veneer only covers the front and sides of a tooth

Your cosmetic dentist will use bonding that chemically compatible with the material in the fillings on your front teeth. The bonding material and the fillings in your teeth will unite and form a solid piece. But your before bonding veneers to your teeth, a cosmetic dentist will ensure that your fillings are stable and your teeth are healthy. Any issues with the health of your teeth will be resolved first.

Select an Advanced Cosmetic Dentist

A cosmetic dentist’s skill determines how well he or she bonds your porcelain veneers to your teeth.

Look for a dentist with advanced post-graduate training in esthetics.
Ask the dentist how many porcelain veneers he or she has completed.
Try to find an accredited cosmetic dentist. To achieve accreditation, a dentist must complete rigorous exams and submit successful patient cases that represent the dentist’s skill.

What to Expect with a Porcelain Veneers

Cosmetic dentists who are artists will work closely with you to give you the smile you’ve envisioned.

You’ll co-design your smile makeover.
Your dentist will show you a virtual version of your smile makeover.
You’ll try on a wax model of your new smile and wear temporary veneers.
Your dentist will adjust the temporaries to match your smile goals.
After you approve your new smile, your dentist will securely bond the veneers to your teeth.

Are Veneers the Right Solution?

Whether or not you should select another form of cosmetic dentistry depends on your teeth’s health and appearance and what you want to accomplish. Sometimes composite bonding is a solution, or a dentist might recommend a combination of treatments. Request a consultation to learn about your options before requesting a specific procedure like porcelain veneers.

Michael Szarek, DMD, an accredited cosmetic dentist in Lowell, MA sponsors this post.

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.

I don’t trust my dentist to polish my porcelain veneers

Posted on October 26, 2018 by AllSmiles.

2 of my porcelain veneers had small scratches in them, so my cosmetic dentist buffed them out. The scratches are gone, but so is the shine on the veneers. They look like they have a matte finish. I asked my dentist about the process he used, and he said he used a process called “cups” and then he polished the veneers. I’m really not satisfied with the look, because the 2 veneers are not shiny. But I’m also afraid that if I ask my dentist to do the correction he might make the situation worse. If I decide to keep the veneers as they are, will they eventually stain and need to be replaced? Thanks. Karyl

Karyl,

Porcelain veneer

The matte finish will make your porcelain veneers more susceptible to stain. Your veneers can be polished to restore their original gloss. A skilled cosmetic dentist knows the process and has the materials needed to correctly polish veneers.

Restoring Shine to Porcelain Veneers

Restoring the shine to previously scratched porcelain veneers requires the following tools and materials:

Diamond polishing instruments
Polishing paste
Ultra-fine diamond polishing paste

If your dentist placed your porcelain veneers, he should have these tools and materials in his office and be able to restore the glossy shine. Many skilled cosmetic dentists use the Brasseler’s Dialite porcelain polishing system to get highly aesthetic results.

If your dentist seems uncertain about how to restore the luster of your veneers, you can schedule a second opinion with an accredited cosmetic dentist to discuss your options.

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

Porcelain Veneers Needed after Chemotherapy?

Posted on September 4, 2018 by AllSmiles.

I have two months of chemotherapy to complete after successful colon surgery. I’ve found a chemo side-effects fact sheet online, but it doesn’t say if my teeth will be affected. Will I need porcelain veneers or some other kind of cosmetic dentistry? Maybe I shouldn’t worry, but I’m concerned about the added expense of needing dental work. I’ve already incurred so many out-of-pocket expenses, and I want to know what to expect. Thanks, Gene.

Gene,

Chemotherapy can affect your teeth. But whether or not you will need porcelain veneers after treatment depends on several factors, including:

Length of your chemo treatment
The condition of your teeth before and after treatment
Whether or not other cosmetic dentistry options will be effective

Chemotherapy Can Affect Your Teeth

There are side effects of chemotherapy, such as vomiting and dry mouth that can affect your teeth. Dental problems increase with the length of the chemotherapy treatment.

The acid in your mouth – The acid from vomiting can erode tooth enamel and cause tooth decay. If chemotherapy causes you to vomit, you can neutralize the acid. Add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to 8 ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth with the mixture. After 30 minutes, brush your teeth with an extra soft toothbrush.
Dry mouth – If the chemotherapy causes your mouth to be dry, the dryness can promote plaque and tooth decay. Keep your mouth moist throughout the day by chewing sugarless gum, sucking on sugar-free candy or ice chips, or by sipping water. Ask your dentist for prescription fluoride toothpaste to help prevent decay, and floss your teeth twice daily.
Other oral side effects – There are other oral side effects of chemotherapy. Speak with your dentist and your oncologist about the side effects and what can be done to preserve your teeth and oral health.

Will You Need Porcelain Veneers?

Porcelain veneer

We recommend that you speak with your dentist before you start chemotherapy. Let he or she know when you’ll start treatment. Your dentist will be able to anticipate your oral health needs and monitor the effects of treatment on your teeth.

If you need cosmetic work after you’ve finished chemotherapy, there might be alternatives to porcelain veneers. At times, chairside dental bonding can conceal signs of wear and discoloration on teeth. Dental bonding is less expensive than porcelain veneers. An experienced cosmetic dentist can produce beautiful results with bonding and make it blend seamlessly with your natural teeth. He or she will examine your teeth and let you know your options.

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