What Happens To The Teeth Underneath Your Veneers?
Veneers are tiny shells or facades that are built to be applied over existing teeth as a way to improve their appearance and beautify your smile. Dentists will recommend veneers as a way to hide permanent cosmetic damage or to reshape your teeth and you have a number of different materials from which to choose when having your veneers applied.
These materials include porcelain veneers, resin veneers, or ceramic veneers, just to name some of the most popular options that are utilized the most. But when those shells are fitted over existing teeth, some patients begin to wonder what happens to the teeth over time. The short answer is: nothing. In fact, that’s exactly what should happen to your teeth underneath your veneers. Nothing.
That is, as long as they were fitted and applied properly by your local Cary, NC dentist. Teeth should remain in good healthy condition long after the veneers are installed. The only reason for any problems to arise from veneers is if the dentist failed to provide you with the right preparatory treatment ahead of your veneers being placed on your teeth.
Applying Veneers
The procedure is relatively simple but there are a number of things that need to be taken care of before the work is started. Your dentist should give your teeth a complete examination and that includes x-rays as well as an assessment of your enamel.
Once the dentist determines that you are a good candidate for veneers, your enamel is filed down along the front surfaces of your teeth, beginning the process towards a permanent installation of veneers for the rest of your life.
The filing procedure is key to the proper application of your veneers and, if done incorrectly, can cause potential problems for your teeth that could result in the veneer being removed and reinstalled once again.
Replacements
Even though veneers are a permanent fixture in your mouth when you decide to have the work performed, you will need to replace them every number of years. How often depends on the material you’ve selected for your veneer. For resin or ceramic veneers, you may need to have them swapped out anywhere from a year or two to as much as five years after the initial installation. Porcelain can last significantly longer at up to a full decade before needing to be replaced.
When your dentist performs the replacement, the filing down of the enamel will have to be done over again, each and every time you have your veneers replaced.
Inherent Risks
The biggest concern is that filing technique. When the surface of the tooth has not been performed properly, you could be left with too much tooth being sheared away or the nerve becoming inflamed resulting in the tooth dying. Some patients have needed additional dental work from root canals to full extractions after a surface filing has been done poorly.
Sometimes it turns out that a tooth or many teeth were not suitable for veneers after all and this is only discovered after the procedure has been performed.