Have you ever noticed how perfect your favorite movie star’s teeth are? Most celebrities aren’t born with perfect teeth! In fact, many of them owe their award-winning smiles to a popular cosmetic treatment called veneers. At Brice Dental, we believe that everyone should have a red carpet-ready smile! With veneers in San Antonio, we can help you erase chips, cracks, gaps, stains, and more to give you a beautiful set of pearly whites. Read on to learn more about veneers and give us a call today to schedule your consultation!
A veneer is an ultra-thin shell of dental porcelain. Each one is precisely crafted to fit perfectly over the front surface of a tooth. This allows it to conceal any dental imperfections underneath, transforming them into the ideal appearance of a healthy pearly white! One or more veneers can be used to erase a variety of cosmetic issues, such as:
If you’re interested in veneers, your first step will be to come see us for a consultation. During this initial visit, we’ll inspect your teeth and discuss your smile goals to make sure that veneers are the best way to achieve the results you’re looking for. Then, we’ll prepare the surface of whichever teeth will be receiving a veneer. This involves removing a very thin layer of enamel, which you won’t feel at all with the help of local anesthetic.
We’ll take impressions of your teeth and send them to a dental laboratory to have your veneers created. Before you leave our office, we’ll fit you with temporary veneers to keep your teeth safe and comfortable until your next appointment. Typically, it will take about two weeks for your custom-made veneers to be created. When we receive them, you’ll return to our office for your second appointment. We’ll replace your temporary veneers with your permanent ones and make sure that you’re pleased with the results. Then, you’ll be ready to walk out of our office and show off your brand-new smile!
Veneers are an incredibly popular cosmetic dental service, and it’s easy to see why! Here are just a few of the reasons our patients love veneers:
Veneers are associated with a hefty price tag, but you don’t have to be a movie star or celebrity to transform your smile. Many factors affect the cost of veneers, but Dr. Brice strives to keep a flawless smile affordable for everyone. Sometimes veneers can be the most cost-effective option to address many imperfections at once, so you’ll save time and money. Dr. Brice will create the personalized plan you need for a picture-perfect smile that won’t cost you an arm or a leg.
There are many options to address common aesthetic flaws, like stains, chips, and gaps. Each solution has a different fee, timeline, and lifespan. After examining your mouth and learning more about your goals, Dr. Brice will review which procedures may be right for you, including:
A member of our team will explain your estimate, so you’ll know exactly what you’ll have to pay before committing to anything.
Our office offers many financial solutions to keep our services affordable. We will discuss your options during your consultation, which include:
You don’t have to be rich or famous to benefit from cosmetic dentistry. If you have questions about the cost of veneers, or you’re ready to schedule your consultation, contact our office today.
After your teeth are prepared for veneer placement, you’ll wear temporary veneers to protect your smile while the permanent ones are being made. During that time, you should avoid eating hard foods (i.e., ice, candy, raw veggies), sticky foods (i.e., gum, caramel, taffy), and dark-colored foods and drinks (i.e., coffee, soda, blueberries). They can damage, pull off, or stain your temporary restorations.
Once your permanent veneers are attached, you can eat almost any food you want. However, you should remain cautious with the foods listed above to keep your new smile in its very best shape for as long as possible. Make sure you drink alcohol sparingly as well because it can weaken the bonding material holding your veneers in place.
Initially, you may have difficulty speaking or pronouncing certain words because your tongue is not used to talking with veneers. Even though it’s a tiny difference in thickness, it still affects the way the tongue moves. It’s completely normal for patients to develop a temporary lisp or speech impediment when they first get veneers in San Antonio. Fortunately, these changes should go away once you adjust to your new smile. You can speed up the adjustment process by reading aloud, having more conversations with loved ones, and repeating difficult-to-pronounce words.
Because veneers are nonporous, whitening procedures will not have any effect on them. If they become stained or discolored, you’ll need to have them replaced or shaded. It’s worth noting that whitening treatment can still affect the teeth around the veneers, which means they can make the tone of your smile uneven. Therefore, if you’re having both whitening and veneers done, you should start with whitening so your restorations can be color-matched to your teeth as they currently appear.
It shouldn’t be! Your mouth will be numbed for veneer placement, making the procedure pain-free. Of course, you might experience mild sensitivity and pain when your veneers are first attached. Patients are more likely to have discomfort when multiple veneers are placed. For example, two to four veneers usually cause little to no pain while eight or more can lead to soreness in the gums and the jaw. The good news is you can easily manage these symptoms with over-the-counter pain medication and saltwater rinses.
Veneers are a long-term solution to many frustrating dental defects like chips, cracks, stains, gaps, misshapenness, and even mild misalignments, and they can last for up to fifteen years or more if they receive excellent care. However, they cannot be called truly permanent since they will eventually need to be replaced, and it’s important to know that the teeth that receive them will have to wear them from then on for protection from infection and injury. This is because the placement process involves removing a small amount of enamel that will not grow back. To keep your teeth and veneers in great shape, remember these tips:
When you are wearing temporary veneers while your permanent appliances are being crafted, it’s important to avoid crunchy or chewy foods like ice, crusty bread, raw fruits and veggies, and candy since they can break your appliances or pull them loose. Temporary veneers are also susceptible to staining, so it’s best to avoid richly colored fare like coffee, tea, cola, juice, wine, candy, berries, and dark sauces.
After your permanent veneers are placed at our San Antonio office, you should be able to resume your normal diet, but it’s best to keep the following tips in mind:
Veneers are crafted from stain-resistant ceramic materials, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about drinking coffee after you receive your permanent set. However, prolonged and excessive exposure to the pigments and tannins in coffee can still discolor your appliances, so it’s best to enjoy darker beverages through a straw to reduce how much contact they make with your teeth and restorations.