Porcelain Dental Veneers Care

Cosmetic dental work often involves a substantial investment and may require special maintenance to help keep it looking its best. Our team has many years of experience in the field and valuable insights into keeping your dental work looking great for years to come.

Home Care for Temporary Veneers
Congratulations on beginning your new veneer! Dr. Simran Kaur or Dr. Matthew Garcia have placed a temporary veneer onto your smile while your impression is being sent over to a lab. There, technicians will be able to make your new, permanent porcelain veneers. For information on what to expect with your temporary dental veneers in Durham, North Carolina, read through below:

Each permanent veneer takes about two weeks for the lab to make. To change the size, shape or color of your temporary veneer, please let us know. Willowdaile Cosmetic and Family can relay any of your changes to the lab. We always put our patients’ happiness first!
In-between your veneer prep appointment and the insertion of your veneers, be gentle with the temporary restorations. These front teeth look great but are only temporary and can be fragile. Keep away from hard or overly sticky foods, such as peanut brittle or the hard hulls of popcorn kernels. Avoid chewing or biting with your veneers and try to keep away from habits that can damage or dislodge the temporary, such as chewing on ice, chewing your fingernails or chewing the tips of pencils.
There may be some sensitivity to cold or heat. This happens for some patients because part of the enamel has been removed. However, once the permanent veneer is placed, the sensitivity should go away.
The second visit, where our dentists will insert the laminate restoration, usually takes longer than the first. We will place the laminates on top of a resin, expose the resin to a white light and let it cure, or harden. By the time you leave this second appointment, your entire treatment will be done.
If your teeth shift, they will change your bite’s position, making it feel different and even strange. It may take a few days for patients to get used to their new bite. However, if you notice any issues with your bite once the numbness wears off, such as unevenness, please let us know.
The gums may also swell or become sore. To relieve this, rinse with saltwater up to three times each day. Patients can mix one cup of water with a teaspoon of salt, then carefully rinse and spit.
Take over-the-counter pain medication to relieve discomfort.
During the first few days, patients may have some difficulty speaking normally. However, your mouth will quickly adapt to changes and your speech will return to normal.
Tobacco, either smoked or chewed, can quickly stain your new teeth. Please avoid these products to protect the look and health of your smile.
In addition to tobacco, dark liquids can also stain your temporary restoration. Also avoid soda and acidic foods, which can interfere with the bonding process. Drink or rinse your mouth with water after consuming these, or red wine, cola, berries, coffee and tea to avoid stains.
Temporary veneers cannot always cover particularly dark stains, though it will lighten and improve their appearance.
If a temporary veneer loosens of falls out, please contact our office. Push it back into position or temporarily glue it into place using a mixture of petroleum jelly and a powder such as flour, baking soda or baking powder. Put this mixture onto the veneer, place it into position and then push down gently. You may also find temporary cements in local drugstore, if you are not able to come in and see our dentists.
Be sure to keep up with brushing and flossing to help reduce plaque and ensure the integrity of your restoration. Willowdaile Cosmetic and Family also recommends using a mouthwash for 30 seconds each day.

Home Care for Permanent Porcelain Veneers
Here is your list of do’s and do not’s for home care of your porcelain veneers:

The biggest no-no is heavy, frequent alcohol consumption. If you consume large quantities of alcohol daily, the alcohol tends to dissolve the composite material that holds the porcelain to the tooth. Within a period of a couple of years, you could completely ruin the dental work. Moderate amounts will not have a noticeable effect. Beware, also, of alcohol-containing mouthwashes. Be sure to read the list of ingredients on any mouthwash.
Regular toothpastes can be too abrasive for cosmetic dental work. We recommend Rembrandt® toothpaste, because it is very gentle; it removes stains by dissolving them rather than by physical abrasive action. Rembrandt® toothpaste has an aluminum oxide abrasive that is very gentle and is safe for any cosmetic dental work.
Avoid subjecting your teeth to sharp impacts or hard objects. Do not bite pins, nails or staples. Avoid grinding your teeth. If you tend to grind at night, we recommend getting a night guard to protect your teeth. If you engage in contact sports, wear an appropriate athletic mouth guard.
Floss and brush your teeth carefully. While the porcelain or bonding work is immune to decay, the part of your teeth not covered by the cosmetic work is still susceptible. Keep it clean and it will stay decay-free and protect your investment.
Watch how frequently you eat and expose your teeth to bacteria. If you like to snack, you will tend to develop heavy plaque, which causes more decay. The best thing you can do to prevent decay is to limit your eating to three meals a day and maybe a couple of snacks.

Professional Care
Some professional maintenance procedures that are used typically on natural teeth or metal restorations can ruin the beauty of all ceramic or composite esthetic work. Be sure that your dental office understands these do’s and do not’s:

Power polishing equipment, such as the Prophy-Jet®, which creates a powerful spray of sodium bicarbonate to clean your teeth, is great for natural teeth. However, it will roughen the surface of porcelain or composite and make it stain more easily. It will look great at the end of the appointment, but in a few weeks, you will notice a rapid deterioration in appearance.
Regular pumice polish, used routinely by hygienists to remove the protein pellicle layer from teeth, will scratch composite bonding. Even for durable porcelain veneers, the pumice will scratch and erode the composite that holds the veneer to the tooth and cause it to deteriorate prematurely. Hygienists should use a fine aluminum oxide polishing agent to polish cosmetic dental work
Fluoride treatments have to be done carefully. Many hygienists and dental assistants, and even some dentists, do not understand the difference between acidulated and neutral fluoride, as far as it affects cosmetic work. The acid in acidulated fluoride is hydrofluoric acid, which scratches porcelain and the tiny glass particles in many composites, making them more susceptible to staining. It can even remove the color from some porcelain crowns! If you have any fluoride treatment after cosmetic dental work, be sure that the fluoride used is a neutral fluoride. It is not as strong and will protect your dental work.
Ultrasonic scalers, if used at the margins of porcelain or composite cosmetic work, can chip the margin and make the tooth more susceptible to recurrent decay. If a porcelain crown or bonding looks lackluster or starts staining, a dentist or hygienist specially trained in cosmetic work can bring the shine back. Most recommend extra maintenance polishing appointments (two per year) to keep the shine at its maximum, especially at the critical bond area between the tooth and the veneer.

If you have any questions about taking care of your restoration, ask our dentists during your dental veneer appointment in Durham, North Carolina, or feel free to contact our office at 919-479-5800 at any time.