In a few easy easy appointments, porcelain veneers and crowns can cover over damaged and discoloured teeth, giving you the smile you have always wanted. Veneers and crowns are often used to restore form, function, and strength to teeth that have been subjected to decay and trauma.
Porcelain veneers
Porcelain veneers are thin layers of porcelain fixed onto teeth to enhance appearance, and in some cases, to protect the teeth. Veneers allow many patients to achieve a dramatic smile makeover without highly invasive treatments. The results are also durable, lasting 10-30 years.
Veneers typically require 2-3 appointments. The first is a consultation to determine the desired look, and plan the shape of the veneers to achieve it.
During the second visit, the tooth surfaces will be prepared, by removing a very thin layer of enamel, and taking impressions of the teeth. Using these impressions, veneers are fabricated to fit onto the surfaces, either on-site, or at a lab facility.
On the third visit, the dentist will apply a cleaning solution to prepare the tooth surfaces for bonding, and the permanent veneers will be cemented.
Porcelain crowns
Inlays, onlays and crowns are called indirect restorations, because the restoration is fabricated outside of the mouth, instead of being built in layers directly into the teeth like a filling. The dentist takes impressions of the teeth, then the restoration is shaped to match the part of the tooth it will replace. The restoration is attached with dental cement.
An indirect restoration is an inlay if it covers part of a tooth, without extending to a cusp (pointed tip of tooth). It is an onlay if it extends to replace a tooth’s cusp. And if it complete covers the top surface of the tooth, it is called a crown or cap.
Inlays, onlays and crowns are more effective than fillings in reinforcing teeth to withstand biting forces, and more resistant to further decay. If a tooth’s original structure is too compromised to support a filling, these indirect restorations can provide fantastic, long-lasting, beautiful results.