Are Dental Veneers right for me?

A lot of you must be asking yourselves if dental veneers are right for me. You hear your friends talking about them, your neighbors are getting them, and every time you turn around there is a commercial on TV for them. Well the answer is, it all depends. It depends on a number of different factors that include your overall health, your periodontal (gums) health, tooth health, and how they function together.

Dental veneers can change your life by projecting your new beautiful smile to the world - We all know that a healthy beautiful smile makes you feel young, fresh, and confident. Surveys done by the American Academy of Cosmetic dentistry have shown that your smile is one of the main areas people notice on your face. These are all part of the phenomenon surrounding the popularity of veneers and why everyone wants them. Veneers are generally made from porcelain that offers superior strength while providing esthetics that match and in cases exceed your natural teeth. They can be made as thin as 0.1 mm, which measures roughly the same thickness as a soft contact lens. The dental technicians can make these veneers in an assortment of shapes, colors, and sizes to help enhance the look of your teeth and smile ultimately.

Many of you who are considering dental veneers might already be dealing with stained teeth, misaligned teeth, chipped teeth, and/or missing teeth. The dental veneers offer solutions for each of these problems and can be utilized in the overall treatment planning. A lot of times the final goal of the treatment is to enhance the overall look of your smile or in some cases to give you a smile. Yes, you read that correctly - some people are so ashamed of their teeth that they have trained themselves not to smile! Well, all of you who are in this category, you deserve a smile!

Dental veneers if done ultra-conservatively (no tooth preparation) can actually add to the strength of your teeth. In dentistry we have to cement restorative (fillings, crowns, etc.) materials to an assortment of surfaces - one of which is your enamel (out layer of teeth) that allows for a very strong bond. New techniques allow us in selected cases to directly cement to your enamel. Having the ability to do this prevents us from taking anything away from your teeth and by using the new cements and veneers we can actually strengthen them. So having ultra-thin veneers that are strong, superior bonding materials, and a comprehensive treatment plan we can achieve a lot esthetically without having to remove tooth structure.

At Dr. Groba's practice we share a core philosophy of health and functionality for all your teeth - this is before we ever start with any cosmetic procedure. This has been the backbone of our practice and has proved to be very successful. Dr. Groba has done thousands of cosmetic procedures in his career spanning over 30 years - yet he still has a keen focus on the overall health before moving forward to anything that is elective. We welcome your questions or comments - Stop by our practice and ask us how your oral health is doing. We are confident that we can help you achieve a higher quality of life through a healthy and beautiful smile.
Written: Dr. Frank F. Nia, DMD, MSEd.