5 Dental Veneers Care Tips

As a cosmetic dentist, one of our favorite tools to use is the dental veneer. These paper-thin pieces of porcelain are molded, colored, and shaped to fit in exactly with your teeth and give you the perfect smile you have always wanted. They are an excellent way to remedy numerous problems that can occur in a mouth. That being said, if you have dental veneers, you need to know how to take care of them so they last a long time. Well-cared-for dental veneers can last anywhere from five to 15 years or longer, so it behooves you to take care of them properly. Here are a few tips for dental veneer care.

Tip 1: Then you have dental veneers, you need to practice good oral hygiene. What this means is that you cannot neglect your teeth, avoid brushing, or any of those other bad habits that could damage your natural teeth. Treating your veneers exactly like natural teeth and caring for them as such is the best advice your cosmetic dentist can give you. In order to have good oral hygiene, we recommend that you do the following. Brush your teeth for at least two minutes per day, twice a day. You should also make a habit of rinsing after meals if you cannot brush and using floss.

Tip 2: Bruxism is literally the enemy of your teeth and by extension, the enemy of your dental veneers. Bruxism is the habit people have of grinding their teeth, often during the night. One of the main methods to protect your dental veneers is to avoid nightly grinding. Your cosmetic dentist can provide you with a custom-made dental retainer that will be placed into your mouth at night to prevent your bruxism from occurring. Wearing this regularly can help protect your dental veneers for a longer period of time. For more detailed information on bruxism and how it can affect your natural teeth, as well as your veneers, contact our Chicago, IL clinic at (312) 509-9492, to schedule an appointment.

Tips 3: Avoid staining foods. There are many foods that cause your teeth to be discolored. While your veneers themselves cannot be stained since they are made of porcelain by a dental lab or cosmetic dentist, what we know at the Smiles on Michigan Clinic in Chicago, IL is that your other teeth can become stained. Consuming products like coffee, wine, soy sauce, and berries, as a few examples, can cause your teeth to become yellow, and you may have to come in to our Chicago office for a teeth whitening appointment.

Tip 4: Do not bite down on hard surfaces. This is typically something you should not do with either natural teeth or with veneers. The veneers placed by a cosmetic dentist can come unglued or break if you put unnatural force on them by biting down on a substance too hard for your teeth. If you do have veneers and you do bite down on something hard, you could have a broken veneer that we would need to repair. For getting your veneer repaired or replaced, give us a call at (312) 509-9492 to schedule an appointment.

Tip 5: Use a soft toothbrush when you are brushing. This is one area where we cannot stress enough the importance of paying attention when you are buying your toothbrush. A toothbrush that is too hard may wear away the shine and polish of your veneers, making them look dull and less tooth-like. Use a recommended toothpaste and a soft brush once your veneers have been placed. If you have, for some reason, rubbed away the polish on your veneers, visit our Chicago, IL cosmetic dentist office to have them replaced or repaired.

At Smiles on Michigan, we can help you create and maintain a beautiful smile.  Whether you already have dental veneers or are considering getting them, be sure to visit our dental office twice a year so that we can help you to remain in good oral health and help your smile to stay beautiful.