Porcelain Veneers - East Hartford, CT

Why Choose Comprehensive Dental Associates of Central Connecticut for Porcelain Veneers

• Natural-looking results tailored to your specifications
• Experienced cosmetic team
• Treatment completed in as few as two appointments

What Can Porcelain Veneers Accomplish?

Veneers may be able to significantly improve any of the following characteristics of teeth:

• Color — Teeth can incur stains due to various foods and drinks, tobacco use, and even normal aging. Veneers come in various shades. They can instantly change the color of your teeth, whether you want a soft, natural white, or you want to dazzle others with a Hollywood-bright smile. They are also highly resistant to stains, so you can expect them to maintain their original color for a long time.
• Size and shape — Habitual grinding can wear down the teeth, or perhaps your teeth never had the size and shape you wanted. For example, some people believe rounder teeth are more feminine and squarer teeth are more masculine. Veneers can be shaped and sized in a way that best flatters your face and suits your personal preferences.
• Alignment and spacing — If you have small gaps between the teeth or other minor misalignment issues, you may not need braces. Veneers can disguise those problems and improve the color and shape of your teeth at the same time.

Candidates for Porcelain Veneers

While most people are candidates for porcelain veneers, there are some situations in which they would not be a suitable treatment. For example, if your teeth are significantly misaligned or have large gaps between them, braces or Invisalign® might be a more appropriate solution than veneers. Also, if you have lost a lot of tooth structure due to decay or trauma (or a particularly severe grinding habit), it might be better to restore your teeth with dental crowns that cover the entire tooth.

The Porcelain Veneer Process

The first step in creating a new smile with porcelain veneers is to visit us for a consultation. Be sure you can communicate exactly what you dislike about your smile as it is now. It is a good idea to bring in pictures of smiles that appeal to you; we can use these as a starting point for designing your veneers.

If you would like to preview how veneers would look on your teeth, that is possible via one of several methods. We can create a model of your teeth, over which wax “veneers” can be placed. In some cases, we are able to place acrylic (plastic) or tooth-colored filling material directly onto a patient’s teeth to demonstrate the effect that veneers would have on them.

Once we settle on a plan for your veneers, we will prepare your teeth by removing a small amount of enamel from them, if this step is necessary. We may have to do so in order to ensure that your veneers do not make your smile look bulky or unnatural. However, recent years have brought about remarkable advances in dental porcelain technology. These days, it is often possible to make veneers so thin that they can be bonded directly onto an existing tooth surface — no enamel removal necessary. When it is necessary to remove some enamel, we take an extremely thin layer — as thin as the veneer itself. Either way, the results are almost guaranteed to please.

After your teeth are ready, we will take molds of them. A skilled dental laboratory will use those molds to fabricate your veneers. In the meantime, you will receive a temporary set of veneers to wear during the few weeks it will take to craft your permanent ones. When your veneers arrive back in our dental office, we will verify their fit before we cement them onto your teeth.

Maintaining Your Porcelain Veneers

Just like your natural teeth, teeth with porcelain veneers need gentle brushing and flossing on a daily basis. This will remove plaque buildup and promote gum health around the veneers. Regular checkups and cleanings at the dental office will remain as important as ever to your oral and overall health. Also, bear in mind that as tough as veneers are, they may not be able to stand up to forces that come from using your teeth as a tool (for example, to open packages), or biting into extremely hard foods like candy apples — which is not good for your natural teeth, either. If you habitually grind or clench your teeth at night, we are likely to recommend that you use a custom-made nightguard to protect your veneers as well as your natural teeth.

Porcelain Veneers – Without A Drill

Both dentistry and medicine are constantly finding ways to be as conservative as possible without sacrificing results. We are proud to offer “no-prep” or “prepless” veneers. This remarkable treatment allows us to enhance our patients’ smiles — without the downside of having to drill away healthy tooth structure.

Understanding the Cost of Veneers

The cost of veneers in East Hartford is, in general, higher than that of other cosmetic treatments. However, they are a top-quality service that can provide a long-term smile transformation. When you visit us for your consultation, we will give you an estimate for their price and help you explore your payment options. If you would like to learn about other aesthetic treatments as well, we will be happy to answer your questions and assist you as you compare your options.

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