Porcelain Veneers – What Does It Mean?
Before you explore your options for porcelain veneers in Raleigh, you should try to understand the real value of porcelain veneers, in general.
The human body – and the composition of every part of it – is absolutely amazing when you study it. Your tooth enamel – which porcelain veneers essentially replicate but don’t completely replace – are no exception. Many people know that tooth enamel is the outer covering of the tooth, but few have really thought enough about it long enough to understand how amazing tooth enamel truly is. At best, most people know that it is hard and has protective properties for the rest of the tooth.
One of the most interesting and amazing things about tooth enamel is its light refraction properties. If you recall from your science classes, materials fall into three basic categories – transparent (see-through), opaque (can’t see through), and the perhaps more sophisticated and complex category – translucent.
Your tooth enamel is a translucent material – meaning that light passes through it, but it also bounces off it in some rather unusual ways. To some extent it has its own color; to some extent it takes on the color of what is behind it; to some extent it takes on the color of the light hitting it. The best material currently available for “mimicking” your tooth enamel is porcelain. It is a hard material with translucent properties – meaning that porcelain veneers refract light much the same way that your tooth enamel does. Composite resins, sometimes used for veneers, are semi-transparent, but do not have that translucent property that makes healthy tooth enamel sparkle in a very unique and eye-catching way. There may, in fact, be some real scientific grounding before the idiom “flash a smile.”
One advantage to porcelain veneers is that they are generally stain resistant. Think of fine porcelain china dinnerware – it is very hard and has a shimmering glow. It generally does not stain, but will pick up stains if it is cracked or abraded. But it takes relatively serious abuse to abrade it (and have resultant staining!) There are some precautions you’ll need to follow if you’re getting porcelain veneers – in Raleigh or anywhere else! Using your teeth as bottle openers is certainly not advised – nor is it advised for your regular teeth/enamel. Biting down on anything hard is never a good idea because it can cause a fracture in your tooth or its enamel, as well as in a porcelain veneer. Certain teeth cleaning materials used in some dental offices can also abrade the surface of porcelain veneers and destroy some of their luster.
Similar to fine porcelain china, porcelain veneers are both lovely and durable. With reasonable care and avoidance of strong abrasives, they both can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. (Although you probably won’t be passing your porcelain veneers on to the next generation.) If you’re considering porcelain veneers in Raleigh, let us explain your options and why porcelain veneers may be the best choice in creating the smile you want to achieve!
