Dental veneers can give spectacular cosmetic results and completely alter and enhance your smile. However, they are not indestructible, they have their good and bad points and there are a few things that you can do to extend the life and quality of veneers.
1. Maintain Good Oral Health
Of course, this is recommended for everybody, whether or not they have veneers. However, it ought to be pointed out that 6% of porcelain veneers fail due to tooth decay. If you eliminate tooth decay then you eliminate a 6% fail rate.
2. Realize That Although Veneers Are Strong
They are not like Superman’s suit. They are not impervious to everything. If you bite your fingernails, pencils, pens, or hard foods like apples then these can be a concern.
3. Avoid Clenching and Grinding Your Teeth
Such habits impart unnecessary frictional forces on the teeth which are unhealthy even for natural strong teeth and certainly contraindicated for teeth that are capped with veneers
4. Avoid Things That Can Cause Stains
The Porcelain veneers itself resists stains well. The bonding agent, on the other hand, is plastic and can discolor. Decay and plaque are common sources of stains, so practice good dental care. Other things that are known to cause stains – such as coffee, tea, tobacco products, red wine etc should be avoided.
5. Avoid Hot and Cold Items
This is for two reasons. The first is that – as with many dental procedures there can be a temporary increase in dental sensitivity for the first week or so. Secondly, heat and cold and expand and contract anything and everything, including dental veneers. If you continually subject the tooth to extremes of heat and cold then the veneer may become brittle and then break or crack.
