Dental Veneers Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto Dental Veneers
What are Veneers?
Veneers are very thin pieces of porcelain that are bonded to your teeth. They are used to help correct or enhance a patients smile. If planned and executed properly, they are able to improve on the colour, size and shape of the patients existing teeth in order to increase the esthetic presence of their smile.
How do I know if I am a good candidate for the procedure?
The first step is to make an appointment for a consult. Veneers are often the secondary phase of treatment for most patients. In order to help insure ideal esthetics and longevity the oral environment needs to be healthy. Oral radiographs, periodontal assessment, and a dental examination will help determine the health of your current oral environment. Obtaining an maintaining this healthy oral flora is not difficult to achieve with the help of our dental team. Adequate oral hygiene homecare regimens are also needed pre and post veneer application. Afterall, wouldn’t you want to take care of your new and improved smile.
I have had many other consults, how is yours different?
The first step of our consult will be to sit down and just talk. You are the biggest part of this procedure so it is very important to know what you would like to gain from this. Your expectations of the outcome need to be discussed in detail so that we are all on the same page. We need to make sure that the view you desire to achieve is onegei that is well suited for your overall facial esthetics. Improving only the teeth shape, colour and size is not enough. This needs to be assessed with the lips and facial structiures that contribute to how the teeth will be seen by the world. Once we have a good idea of our goal we can begin to work towards it.
The first step will the ‘mock-up’ appointment. Depending on the case, we are able to ‘mock-up’ your new smile either digitally, physically, or both. This is a representation of the new smile that we have created for you. We often recommend that all mock-ups include a wax-up version of the future veneers. This wax-up has a number of advantages. Firstly, it allows us to inspect and potentially criticize the proposed veneers that are stuck to a mould of your teeth. This 3D representation allows us to see the design at all angles and distances. Additionally, in most cases we are able to transfer this wax-up directly to your mouth. This means that you will be able to see what your new smile will look like in your mouth before we even begin the procedure. We take many photos so that you are able to judge this improvement much easier at a later time if you wish.
Additionally, this new mock up smile is still in the planning stage. Which means that we are able to make as many changes to the proposed veneers as we like. This is the stage that we can make changes in order to reassess again. This stage will take as long as needed until we have achieved the goal that was discussed at the first appointment.
The reason that this step is necessary is that we are able to theoretically view the proposed veneers in your mouth without prepping them just yet. This is very powerful to both you the patient and me the clinician. We learn from this and make any adjustments as needed to improve the esthetics.
How many veneers do I need? Is there a minimum?
Veneers are used to help enhance or improve a persons smile and overall confidence. That being said, not all humans are created equal. Differences in teeth colour, shape, translucency, size, and position will all play a role. In addition, the overall facial structures (ie. lip size, position, shape, etc.) will also determine how the smile will be framed in comparison to the rest. In very rare cases a patient may need 2 or 4 veneers depending on how much teeth they show during different movements (ie. speaking, laughing, smiling, etc.). In other cases they may need 10 veneers per arch in order to help achieve the goal that we have discussed at an earlier appointment. The reason we often recommend veneering all the teeth that fall in your smile line is to help create natural beauty. When we are in control of all the factors we can create a perfect harmony between all the porcelain veneers and how they fit into the entire puzzle.
How long do veneers last?
Veneers can last on average 8-12 years, based on most research papers out there. However, I have personally seen some veneers last much longer and others a little less. This is mainly dependent on the patients overall care and maintenance. Regular dental care is vital to help insure the longevity of your new smile. The porcelain veneers are resistant to major staining but can pick up some minor stains from certain foods and drinks. Do not worry, this can be easily polished back to an esthetic luster as part of your dental cleaning schedule.
What have I seen after completing cases for my patient?
Many patients are not too sure what to expect and do not think that it will change any other aspect of their life except for their smile. However, we don’t realize how powerful a smile is. Think about it, when you first see someone your own eyes are directly locked onto the eyes and the smile, if they are smiling. That is the difference. After a smile makeover, something changes with the patients overall demeanour. I have seen the shy become outgoing, the timid become proud, and the introvert turn into an extrovert. Studies have shown that smiling can make you look younger, thinner, elevate mood, increase pleasure areas of the brain, make you likable and most importantly smiling is contagious. So why not give yourself and those around you a reason to smile and enjoy all of those benefits.