You have a lot of choices when it comes to cosmetic dentistry – perhaps
too many! If you’re not sure where to begin, you may consider just
covering all of your dental flaws at once with lifelike porcelain veneers! At
Carlson Dental Group, our team can use veneers to improve virtually every
aspect of your smile. If you’ve been dreaming of a more dazzling grin,
you can get started today by
calling our office
and setting up a consultation.
Why Choose Carlson Dental Group for Veneers?
Fully Personalized Restorations
State of the Art Dental Technology
Team of Experienced Dental Experts
What are Porcelain Veneers?
A veneer is a thin shell meant to hide a wide variety of dental
imperfections simultaneously. It’s made out of material that closely
resembles your natural enamel. This used to mean composite resin, but today
porcelain is preferred because it’s a long-lasting material that
doesn’t stain very easily. You can get veneers to hide minor chips and
cracks, irregularly shaped teeth, irremovable stains or discoloration,
certain smaller gaps, and crooked teeth. And since the restorations cover up
the entire front visible surface of the enamel, all of these changes are
made simultaneously.
The Veneer Process
We can talk to you about your goals for your smile during a consultation.
After we’ve explored various cosmetic options and have settled on
placing veneers, we can prepare your smile by removing small amounts of
enamel from the teeth in question. (This is important for making sure that
the tooth doesn’t look overly bulky after the treatment.) A model will
be made based on the current state of your mouth. You’ll receive
temporary veneers to protect your teeth while a dental lab makes the
permanent versions. After a couple of weeks, we’ll call you back to
our office for the final placement.
Benefits of Veneers
Each veneer will be carefully color-matched to the rest of your smile. That
way the restorations will be virtually indistinguishable from the rest of
your teeth, letting you smile with confidence. Also, your veneers
won’t become discolored as easily as natural teeth because porcelain
isn’t a porous material. Compared to dental crowns, veneers are less
invasive since enamel only has to be removed from the front of the tooth
instead of all around it.
Taking Care of Porcelain Veneers
Taking care of veneers is not unlike taking care of your real teeth.
Continue brushing and flossing as you did before; veneers aren’t
susceptible for tooth decay, but they’re still a target for plaque and
tartar that can lead to gum disease and other oral health issues. To avoid
cracking or chipping your veneers, do not chew on hard items or open
packages with your teeth. For those who play sports of any kind, it’s
important to wear a mouthguard whenever you’re on the field, even if
you’re not explicitly required to have one. Finally, be sure to visit
our practice every six months so that we can check on your veneers while
we’re examining the rest of your smile.
Understanding the Cost of Veneers
Before deciding if veneers are the best solution for improving your smile, you’ll want to understand the overall cost. Even though you can expect to appreciate numerous benefits from this treatment, the last thing you’d want is a surprise when you get the bill. However, since every smile is different, you’ll need to visit our team for a consultation so we can provide an accurate estimate of your procedure. We’ll also go over other alternative cosmetic services and their price ranges to help you make a well-informed decision for your smile. Keep reading to learn about the cost of veneers in Jacksonville.
Cost vs. Cosmetic Dentistry: What’s Right For Me?
Veneers are one of the most popular cosmetic dental solutions because of their comprehensive and long-lasting results. That said, they aren’t the only treatment option to consider, especially if you’re thinking about what could work within your budget. Here are several of the cosmetic procedures our team offers and how they compare with each other:
Invisalign
– If you’ve ever wanted perfectly straight teeth, then Invisalign is the popular way to achieve this. By wearing smooth and nearly invisible clear aligners, you’ll be able to show off a uniform smile that can have permanent results as long as you wear your retainers. This option, however, won’t affect the color, size, or shape of your teeth.
Teeth whitening
– Most people who want to improve their smiles opt for professional teeth whitening, as it is both relatively quick and affordable. While you can expect to enjoy dazzling pearly whites, you’ll likely need touchups after several months or a few years, which can add to the overall price. This option also won’t alter the shape, size, or spacing.
Dental bonding
– For minor dental flaws, our team can repair and improve your smile with composite resin. This tooth-colored material matches perfectly with your smile and can effectively transform the color, size, shape, and even spacing of your teeth. However, the results will only last several years, whereas veneers can go as far as 15 years or more with proper care.
Veneers
– These porcelain shells come at a much higher price, but this is only because of the quality of the results they provide. Veneers can address multiple imperfections at once, offering a virtually permanent whitening solution, and can be completed in just two appointments!
How to Make Veneers Affordable
Since veneers, like most cosmetic dental services, are considered “non-essential” care, dental insurance typically won’t cover the cost of the treatment. Even so, you might consider alternative financing solutions. Our team offers an in-house membership plan that can give significant discounts on all treatments, including veneers, with one low annual fee. We’re also partnered with CareCredit, which can split up the price of your procedure into small, monthly payments with close to zero interest.
Porcelain Veneers FAQs
The experts at the Carlson Dental Group have had the opportunity to transform many different smiles with porcelain veneers. Along the way, they’ve received numerous interesting questions from their patients and have made it a point to make sure they get the information they need to achieve the smiles of their dreams. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about the benefits of porcelain veneers and how they can help you. You can also check below to find the answers to many of the questions that we’ve frequently heard when it comes to veneers.
Are Veneers Permanent?
Veneers are considered to be permanent, but it’s not because they last forever; indeed, the average veneer has a lifespan of around 10 to 15 years and will eventually have to be replaced. The reason the procedure is permanent is because small amounts of enamel have to be filed away from the tooth, permanently altering it to make room for the veneers. As such, the tooth will always have to be covered with a veneer or a crown from that point forward. In other words, choosing to get veneers is making a lifetime commitment to a better, brighter smile.
How Many Veneers Am I Going to Need?
We can’t answer that question until we know what kind of corrections you want to make. It’s important for all of your visible teeth to match, so it mainly depends on how many veneers are necessary to meet that goal. If just a single tooth is cracked or broken, you may only need one veneer. For more widespread problems, such as discoloration that affects multiple teeth, you might need 6 to 8 veneers (or in some cases as many as 10 or 12) so that the end results leave you with a symmetrical smile.
Will I Be Able to Drink Coffee with Veneers?
One notable feature of porcelain veneers is that they’re more stain-resistant than real teeth. Porcelain is what’s known as a nonporous material; essentially, there are much fewer opportunities for dark-colored beverages and other staining substances to slip beneath the surface. You therefore don’t have to worry about coffee staining your veneers as much as you would your natural enamel. Of course, stain-resistant does not equal stain-proof. It’s best to drink coffee and other dark-colored beverages in moderation in order to protect your veneers (and the rest of your smile) from discoloration.
What are Potential Obstacles to Getting Veneers?
Veneers should never be placed on a tooth that already has a cavity, as that will only make it harder to treat a problem that is almost certainly going to become worse over time. Also, gum disease can make it harder to get an accurate impression of the teeth, meaning your veneers likely won’t fit. Both gum disease and tooth decay have to be treated before you can get veneers. Also, a 2017 study found that porcelain veneers were more likely to fall off in patients who suffered from bruxism (unconscious grinding of the teeth at night). If you have bruxism, you should invest in a mouthguard to protect your veneers. We can discuss other potential pitfalls during your consultation.
