Dental Veneers - A Makeover for your Teeth

Dental veneers fall into the category of cosmetic dentistry and are used to create a bright, white smile with beautifully aligned, shapely teeth. Veneers can replace chipped, uneven, or spaced teeth with well-aligned, shapely teeth. Even better, the translucent ceramic quality of today's veneers provides a more natural-looking bright, white smile. Regardless of what causes unattractive teeth, dental veneers may solve most or all of the issues, including:

• Over time, the thin, hard white substance covering your teeth (the enamel) may become worn, dulled and discolored.
• Aged teeth are more likely to have an uneven appearance, chips, or cracks, and be worn down due to years of wear and tear.
• Certain people may be born with spacing between the teeth that grows wider as they age.
• Uneven teeth can result from tooth grinding or general wear and tear.
• Some people have a genetic predisposition to the wearing of enamel. For others, the cause of enamel wear may be a heavy smoking habit. Similarly, tea, coffee, medications (such as tetracycline), and soft drinks may have an impact on the discoloration of teeth by slowly eating away at the enamel.

Two Types of Dental Veneer Materials

Dental veneers consist of tiny, custom-designed shells of tooth-like ceramic material that, when applied like puzzle pieces over the surface of a tooth and cover worn tooth enamel, uneven tooth alignment or spacing, and chips or cracks.

The two most common types of materials used in dental veneers are composite resins and porcelain. Both composite and porcelain veneers may be fabricated by a dental technician in a dental laboratory; composite veneers can also be directly fabricated inside your mouth at the dental office. Dental veneers that are indirectly fabricated are bonded to the teeth with various types of resin cement.

Cost of Dental Veneers

The cost of dental veneers depends on a variety of factors, including the cosmetic dentist who performs the procedure, the artistic skill of the ceramist making the veneers, the location where it is performed, and the type of dental veneers you have (dental insurance typically does not cover cosmetic procedures).

Of course the number of teeth that require veneers as treatment will affect the total cost.

The type of material used for the veneers is another factor in cost. Traditional porcelain veneers may cost from $900 to $2,500 per tooth. Porcelain veneers can last 10 to 15 years. Composite veneers cost approximately $250 to $1500 per tooth; however, composite veneers are expected to last five to seven years.