Your dental veneers represent an investment in giving you the smile you’ve always wanted. With proper care and cleaning your veneers can provide you with a great smile for many years to come.
As you learned when they were installed, dental veneers are thin porcelain shells that are cemented over the teeth in your smile. The porcelain material the veneers are made from isn’t subject to tooth decay. However, the teeth anchoring them are still subject to decay and could also be compromised by gum disease.
You will need to maintain your regular oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing twice a day to maintain the health of those teeth as well as the surrounding gum tissue. It’s best to use a nonabrasive toothpaste with added fluoride for brushing the actual veneers.
The porcelain veneers at the biting surface can be prone to minor chips from eating a large amount of hard foods. If you enjoy hard foods you might want to develop the habit of cutting them into chunks and popping them into your mouth instead of biting them off. At the same time, you need to avoid using your teeth as tools for things like opening plastic bags or bite off string.
It’s also a good idea to refrain from activities that could stain your teeth, this includes certain foods, dark beverages and of course tobacco use.
If you have questions about dental veneers, please feel free to call us at 440-884-9898 to schedule an appointment.