3 Tips To Help You Care For Your New Dental Veneers

Getting dental veneers is an investment for your mouth, but it is worthwhile because they can drastically improve the way you look. Your confidence may be higher and you may once again love to smile. While veneers are costly, there are steps you can take to make sure that your new veneers will last as long as possible, and here are three important tips to keep in mind after getting them installed.

Avoid Biting Hard

A dental veneer is generally made of porcelain and is like a small shell that is placed over an existing tooth. The veneer is bonded to your tooth, and while the bonding material is strong, it still has limitations. To protect your veneers, you should avoid:

  • Opening packages with your teeth
  • Biting your nails
  • Taking bites out of apples and hard foods directly with your veneers

Failing to abide by this once or twice might not cause damage to your veneers, but every time you use your teeth for any of these purposes, it can weaken the veneers. Eventually, this can cause the veneers to wear out and they may fall off, break, or crack.

Stay Away From Things That Stain Teeth

Your veneers are not likely to discolor over time, but the rest of your teeth will. In addition, the bonding material used to install the veneer may also discolor over time. If you brush every day, your teeth may stay whiter, but this is not always enough.  

You may want to change your habits with the things you eat by avoiding things like:

  • Red wine
  • Coffee
  • Tea

Avoiding these beverages will help you keep your teeth whiter, which may help you prevent differences in the color of your regular teeth and your veneers.

Practice Good Oral Habits

Good oral habits are important for every aspect of dental health and every dentist stresses this with his or her patients. Having good oral habits with dental veneers is important for several reasons, but the main reason is because a veneer-covered tooth can still get cavities.

The problem is that when a dentist has to repair the decay on a tooth with a veneer, there is a chance that he or she will damage the veneer during the procedure. If this happens, you might have to purchase a new veneer to replace it. According to the Consumer Guide to Dentistry, a porcelain veneer costs between $925 to $2,500, which is a lot of money.

After a dentist, such as Sakuda Michael K, installs your veneers, he or she may give you other tips for caring for them, and following these tips is the best way to help your investment last. If you would like to learn more about this, make an appointment with a dentist that offers veneers.


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