What is Porcelain Dental Veneer?

Porcelain dental veneers are performed not only for health reasons but also for aesthetic reasons. This is entirely the patient's choice. The reason for its application in terms of health is to protect teeth that have suffered from excessive substance loss. For this, the tooth is covered with tooth-shaped materials. Thus, the life of the tooth is extended. In addition, thanks to this process, the tooth is equalized with other teeth in terms of shape, size and color.

Porcelain veneer models are called dominant, aggressive, Hollywood, mature, natural, oval, soft, strong, young, developed and functional type. When choosing one of these models, care is taken to ensure that it is balanced and compatible with the patient's face type.

Since the veneer material used in the porcelain tooth veneer method is porcelain, it shows a permanent feature after the veneer is placed. Porcelain material gets its whiteness from the raw material from which it is made. It does not contain metal and there is no toxic substance.

Porcelain veneers, which are an important method in terms of oral and dental health, have the feature of being more durable than other veneers. They can reflect light like natural teeth, especially when compared to composite veneers. In addition, it is preferred more than other coatings due to its natural appearance.

In Which Situations Is Dental Veneer Applied?

The most important reason for the application of the porcelain tooth process is the presence of a caries or the desire to compensate for tooth loss. It is known that the cavity formed in the tooth after tooth loss reduces the quality of life of the person and causes problems in eating and drinking. In addition to compensating for tooth loss, this process treats deformity in the teeth and provides an aesthetic smile. It is possible to list the situations where porcelain tooth veneer can be applied as follows:

● Compensation of missing tooth
● Repair of tooth fractures
● Aesthetic purposes
● Treatment of caries that do not heal with filling
● Elimination of structural defects of the tooth (crooked teeth)
● Ensuring whiteness in teeth that do not change color with the whitening process
● Treatment of excess spaces between teeth
● Treatment of teeth that are pointed or different from other teeth
● It is applied in order to equalize the teeth with a smaller structure than normal with other teeth.

After the dentist's examination, it is decided together with the patient how the porcelain tooth veneer will be done and what type of veneer it will be. However, apart from these ailments, porcelain veneer is not recommended in cases where the tooth is inflamed or a root canal treatment is needed, and having it done may cause problems for the patient.

How is Porcelain Dental Veneer Made?

The teeth that are decided to have porcelain tooth veneer are firstly cleaned thoroughly. Then, the teeth are adjusted to the size of the veneer. This process is performed by filing the teeth.

The thinning process can usually vary between 0.5 and 0.7 mm. Then, the mold of the tooth that has been rasped is removed. Mold removal can be done with classical methods as well as with three-dimensional imaging devices with the development of technology.

In terms of oral and dental health, a subject that patients wonder about in porcelain dental applications is how to make porcelain veneer? is the answer to the question. The extracted mold is taken to the laboratory where the porcelain veneer will be prepared by the dental technicians. The process of preparing the porcelain veneer can take several weeks. During this period, a temporary veneer is applied so that the patient can use the teeth comfortably and not be damaged.

After the veneer is prepared, the dentist applies local anesthesia so that the patient does not feel any discomfort during the wearing of the veneer. After the anesthesia process, the teeth on which the veneer will be placed are shaped to be in full harmony with the porcelain. If this shaping process is not to the extent that the dentist can do, the veneers can be sent back to the laboratory.

The veneer is placed on the tooth and its suitability is checked and the necessary arrangements are made by the dentist for a full fit. Polishing is applied to the porcelain teeth to make them fully ready. After this process, the veneer is placed on the tooth by the dentist with the help of special adhesives, and the process is completed. It is also preferred because the treatment period is shorter than other dental procedures.

How should the care after porcelain tooth veneer be?

After the local anesthesia applied during the porcelain veneer process loses its effect, the person can start eating and drinking normally. There are no restrictions. Some situations may develop after the coating process is finished. For example, hardness can be felt in the area where the coatings are applied. This feeling of stiffness will go away on its own after a while. If this hardness lasts for a long time, it may be necessary to see the dentist again.
Apart from hardness, if there is a protrusion in the tooth that disturbs the patient, it is absolutely necessary to see the dentist. If the dentist deems it necessary, rasping of the veneer can be done again.

As with every dental treatment, paying attention to some issues after the coating process will ensure that the treatment is healthy and long-lasting in terms of oral and dental health. These operations can be listed as follows:

● First of all, paying attention to oral and dental health prolongs the life of the coatings.
● Since using a hard-bristled toothbrush can damage the coating surface, it would be more appropriate to choose soft-bristled brushes.
● It is important to go to the dentist every 6 months in order to ensure that the veneers are healthy and can be used for a long time.
● Medicines recommended by the dentist should be used for pain or aches that may occur after the veneer is placed.
● Sugary and acidic foods that may cause wear on the teeth should not be consumed.
● Smoking after veneer may cause discoloration of the tooth veneer. Therefore, quitting smoking would be a good option.
● Care should be taken in consuming hard and crusty foods after the covers are attached.
● It is recommended to use the back teeth for hard foods and the front teeth for soft foods.
● Also, biting or chewing solid objects (pencils, ice or nails) will definitely damage the coatings.
● If there are problems such as clenching or grinding while lying down, a dentist should be consulted and a retainer should be used if necessary.
● It is recommended to use a mouth guard while doing sports after coating.

What are the Advantages of Porcelain Veneer Teeth?

When patients choose the porcelain veneer method, they will also benefit from the following advantages.

It should be noted that porcelain veneers are made of very durable material. The fact that it can be used for a long time is due to its durability.
It exhibits an appearance that meets the expectations in terms of aesthetics.
It is completed in a short time, so patients do not have to wait for a long time to have more aesthetic and beautiful-looking teeth.
It can also be safely applied to the anterior teeth.

What are the Disadvantages of Dental Veneers?

Of course, the porcelain coating method also has some disadvantages. Teeth may become more sensitive to hot and cold after the veneer process. If teeth whitening is to be done at the same time, it must be done before the coating application. In very rare cases, there is a risk that the coatings will come off and fall off. Dental veneers are not suitable for those with teeth clenching or grinding habits.

What is the Difference Between Porcelain Veneer and Zirconium Veneer?

One of the most curious issues in this regard is the differences between zirconium veneer and porcelain veneer. Especially undecided patients want to learn the differences. Let's give some information about these differences.

Bridges made of metal materials such as gold or platinum can be used in porcelain veneers. In this way, the durability of the coating is ensured to be much higher. There is no metal support in zirconium. A technique such as combining the substance called zirconia with oxygen is applied, thus increasing the durability of the zirconium.

When porcelain veneers are preferred, we can say that the thinning process is done a little more on the teeth. In zirconium crowns, it is absolutely necessary to wear the tooth to fit and fix it. However, this opening is a little less.

Zirconium veneers can be considered to have a longer service life. However, the service life of dental veneers is closely related to the quality of the material used and the importance that the patient attaches to oral and dental hygiene and health.

How Long Is the Life of Porcelain Veneer Teeth?

Porcelain veneer service life is not the same for every patient. If a dental veneer is made with quality materials by an experienced dentist and the patient gives sufficient importance to oral and dental health, the service life of the veneers can be extended up to 15 years. However, it should be noted that in cases where the patient does not give importance to oral and dental hygiene and disrupts routine dental check-ups, the lifespan will be a little shorter.

At this point, it is necessary to mention whether the patient has some habits or not. Porcelain veneer is not recommended for those who have habits such as breaking hard foods with their teeth, biting a pencil or clenching their teeth, and grinding their teeth. However, if it is done, it should not be expected to have a very long service life. Because these habits cause serious damage to dental veneers, just as they damage natural teeth. Therefore, it would be more correct to abandon the habits in question and then use porcelain veneers. You can write your questions or questions about this tooth coating in the comments section.

What Should Be Considered in Porcelain Veneers?

People with porcelain veneers should pay special attention to their gum health. Gum diseases will cause recession of the gums over time, reducing the service life of the veneers. For this reason, it is necessary to give great importance to oral hygiene.

Clenching and grinding problems also cause gingival recession. It is recommended that patients with these problems take precautions such as the use of night plates.

From time to time, food residues may accumulate under the part of porcelain coatings designed as bridges, which is considered as the body and covers the tooth deficiencies, and discomfort such as bad breath may occur. For this reason, the bottom of the body parts should be cleaned with special brushes and threads. Again, it is important that there is no accumulation at the junction of the veneer and the tooth in the veneers and single tooth veneers of the teeth, which are described as bridge legs, and these areas should be carefully cleaned. If food accumulations that cannot be cleaned and prevented are formed, it is recommended to consult your physician.

If there are discolorations on the teeth in the mouth that cannot be removed by cleaning methods and therefore whitening treatments are planned, these treatments should be performed before porcelain veneers are applied. Because the whitening materials that affect the teeth do not affect the porcelain.

Although there is not much discoloration on porcelain surfaces, coloring foods such as tea and coffee may cause some discoloration. For this reason, it is recommended not to consume too much.

It is recommended to be applied in the posterior regions instead of the anterior teeth, where aesthetics is important, as a more opaque appearance will occur due to the metal under the porcelain. In the anterior regions, porcelains with zirconium infrastructure or full ceramic porcelains give better results.

Very rarely, people may experience allergic reactions to Chromium-Cobalt, Chromium-Nickel or other metal alloys used. In these cases, zirconium supported or full porcelain veneers should be used.

How Long Does Porcelain Veneer Treatment Take?

With digital dentistry, treatment times have also shortened. Treatment times vary according to the intraoral condition and the number of teeth. Durations vary between 1 day and 1 week.

Porcelain veneers are also made very quickly after the condition of the gums and other dental treatments.