When you look at your reflection or at a picture of yourself, are you 100% proud of the way your smile looks? If not, there’s one cosmetic dentistry treatment that can fix all sorts of flaws in your teeth at the same time – veneers. Whether your teeth are slightly chipped, stained, gapped, misshapen, or more, dental veneers are the ideal way to instantly correct all of them and get a smile you’ll love showing off. That said, some of the outer layer of your teeth – called enamel – has to be removed in the process. Just how much tooth enamel needs to be removed for veneers? Keep reading to find out!
But First, What Exactly Are Veneers?
You can think of veneers as little “masks” for your teeth. Once your dentist places these thin ceramic shells over your teeth, it will appear as if your pearly whites had never been anything less than perfect. Every veneer is custom-made in a dental lab to look as natural as possible, and the material is durable enough to last for more than a decade. However, some of your tooth structure will have to be shaved down in order to place veneers.
Why Does Tooth Enamel Need to Be Removed to Get Veneers?
There are two main reasons why your cosmetic dentist removes enamel before placing veneers:
- To form a lasting bond with your tooth, the veneer needs to adhere to a smooth surface. Leveling the outermost layer of your tooth creates an ideal surface for this.
- If no enamel were removed, the veneers would stick out in your smile. Reshaping your teeth allows the veneers to seamlessly blend in.
How Much Enamel Is Removed for Veneers?
As a rule, your dentist will take off the minimum amount of enamel required to place the veneer. The amount of tooth structure removed shouldn’t be nearly enough to jeopardize the tooth’s overall health. After all, your enamel is designed to protect the delicate inner portions of the tooth from damage and infection. Most of the time, this amounts to about half a millimeter of enamel. Keep in mind that once enamel has been lost, it does NOT grow back. Therefore, you should be absolutely certain that you want veneers before proceeding.
Veneers are a versatile and minimally invasive treatment that can make the smile of your dreams a reality. If you’re wondering whether you’re a good candidate for veneers, schedule an appointment with your dentist and find out. They do require an irreversible procedure, but they’ll give you a truly dazzling and worthwhile smile!
About the Practice
At Bryan Reynolds Snow LeNoir Dentistry, our skilled dentists offer a vast array of cosmetic dental services guaranteed to give you a smile you’ll feel proud of. If you’re unsatisfied with your pearly whites, we can use veneers to make them appear effortlessly flawless. To schedule a consultation at either our Ridgefield location or our Patterson one, visit our website.