A New Smile With Dental Veneers

Our Greenwich dentist discusses restoring severely stained teeth.

Without a doubt, one of the most popular cosmetic dental treatments at the Confidental Clinic, is teeth whitening. This is a fast acting and straightforward procedure which has delighted hundreds of patients at our practice.

What though, when a patient’s teeth are very heavily stained, perhaps through years of heavy smoking, or where they are badly chipped or cracked? A whitening procedure obviously will do nothing for the cracks and may only moderately improve the severe staining too.

Dental veneers

For Greenwich patients with teeth that would not fully benefit from a teeth whitening procedure, dental veneers are available as an alternative. Instead of working to improve the affected surface, dental veneers are instead used to replace it.

To perform this procedure, we will first of all administer a local anaesthetic to minimise any discomfort that might be felt during treatment. Once this has taken effect, a fine layer of the affected enamel is removed from the teeth using a dental burr. Once this has been done, impressions will be taken of the teeth and these are then sent to a dental laboratory for your new porcelain veneers to be made. As this means a delay of a week or so in fitting the veneers, temporary ones will be fitted to the teeth in order to protect them.

When your new veneers arrive back at the Confidental Clinic, you will be recalled to the practice where we will remove your temporary veneers and replace them with your new porcelain ones. These are attached using a powerful dental adhesive and they should last you for approximately ten years with appropriate care.

Aftercare

Although the veneers are made from porcelain, you should still continue to brush and floss your teeth well as both decay and gum disease can still occur, even where artificial materials have been used. It is also advisable to avoid biting down too hard on objects such as pens or fingernails as this has been known to cause veneers to become detached.

In the unlikely event that this does happen, please do not try to reattach them yourself with regular glue as this can damage both the veneer and your natural tooth. Odd as it sounds, people do try this type of DIY dentistry, usually with dire consequences. So if a veneer does detach for any reason, please call your Greenwich dentists straight away and we will try to see you the same day, where possible. Often we can reattach the veneers for you quite easily and with the correct equipment.

If you are unhappy with the appearance of your teeth through discolouration, whether mild or severe, please call us to discuss an action plan to restore your teeth to the whiteness you deserve and for the great smile you’ve always wanted.

Call the Confidental Clinic today on 020 8858 1422.