Do you have crooked teeth and looking for dental treatments to correct your smile? There are orthodontic treatments that can fix your smile and bite imperfections. However, such dental treatments take up to eighteen months to move your teeth to the desired positions.
For a quick fix, you can try other cosmetic dentistry treatments such as dental veneers. You might have doubts about how dental veneers can treat crooked teeth. If the question has popped in your head, the answer is yes. However, dental veneers don’t move your teeth but make them look straight.
What Are Dental Veneers?
Dental veneers are wafer-thin ceramic sheets covering the front parts of your teeth to improve their size, shape, and color. By changing the tooth’s shape, dental veneers can make your teeth straight. However, dental veneers can only work if your teeth have mild crookedness and misalignments.
Tooth Veneers vs. Orthodontics
Dental veneers can address the following cosmetic issues:
- Mild misalignments and crookedness
- Gaps between your teeth
- Misshapen or rotated teeth
However, porcelain teeth veneers don’t work the same as orthodontics. While they make your teeth appear straight, the inside will remain crooked or misaligned. Therefore, if you are looking for functional rather than aesthetic dental treatments for misalignment, you can consider orthodontics. Orthodontics can address the following dental problems:
- Malocclusion
- Underbite
- Crossbite
- Overbite
Your dentist will determine if you need orthodontics or porcelain veneers for crooked teeth during your initial consultation.
Who Is Eligible For Dental Veneers?
During your first consultation, your dentist will examine your teeth. The dentist will determine the severity of the teeth’ crookedness and recommend a suitable treatment plan. You might be eligible to get dental veneers over orthodontics if you have the following:
- Single rotated or crooked tooth
- Mild overcrowding
- Smalls spaces or gaps between your teeth
The purpose of getting dental veneers is cosmetic. Therefore, dental veneers would be suitable if you are getting treatments on your front teeth. However, in case you experience difficulties when cleaning your teeth, you should go for orthodontics instead.
Also, you will need healthy gums before getting cosmetic veneers. Therefore, you should seek gum disease treatments first. Once you are free of gum disease, your dentist can clear to get dental veneers.
What to Expect
After you are cleared to get dental veneers, your dentist in Rockville, MD, will proceed to prepare your teeth. When preparing your teeth for dental veneers, your dentist will shed some parts of your enamels. Next, the dentist will take impressions of your teeth to create your porcelain teeth veneers.
Your dentist can place temporary dental veneers as you wait for a permanent one. Alternatively, your dentist might place your permanent teeth veneers on the same day. After placing your dental veneers, your dentist might recommend follow-up visits.
Taking Care of Your Dental Veneers
When you get dental veneers, taking care of them should be a priority since they might be prone to damage. Depending on how you take care of your dental veneers, they can last for more than ten years. Below are the dental veneer aftercare tips:
- Brush your teeth at least twice daily and replace your toothbrush every three months
- Floss your teeth at least once a day to prevent the accumulation of plaque and tartar between your teeth
- Avoid chewing or biting on hard objects to prevent damaging your tooth veneers.
- Wear a tooth protective mouthguard when playing contact sports to prevent dental injuries
- Avoid smoking or using tobacco products since they can cause yellowing on your teeth.
Benefits of Dental Veneers
Apart from making your teeth look straight, you get to enjoy other benefits. Some of the benefits of using dental veneers in the place of orthodontics include:
- Since porcelain is stain-resistant, dental veneers can protect your teeth from future decay and discoloration.
- Dental veneers hold cracked teeth together, stabilizing and strengthening the weak enamels.
- During the dental veneer procedure, your dentist can choose a brighter shade, improving the color of your teeth.
Dentist Near You
Are you looking for dental veneers in place of orthodontics near your location? If you live around Rockville and its environs, you can consider visiting us at Montgomery Dental Associates & Implantology Center. Our team of dentists will examine your teeth, advise you and offer suitable treatments.