Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Questions

First, you will have a preliminary consultation with your dentist to discuss your options and decide how many veneers you would like to have placed. In some cases, crooked or uneven teeth may require you to wear braces for a certain length of time before veneers can be properly applied. Your dentist will typically take x-rays to evaluate the condition of your teeth. Signs of gum disease, tooth decay, or damage to the pulp of your teeth will require remedying before veneers and sometimes mean you are not a viable candidate for them at all.

Your dentist at Dental Care of Stamford will work with you to ensure you select the best matching tooth color from a shade chart and may use imaging software to create a preview of the expected results. When your exam has been completed, and a treatment plan is designed, it is time to schedule your procedure. It will be completed in two sessions over two weeks. Each session will likely take several hours, but dental offices often include amenities to help you relax, such as sedation, massages, audio-visual distraction, or other services.

During your first treatment appointment, they will administer local anesthetic then prepare your teeth by trimming them down by approximately half a millimeter, or the thickness of a fingernail. They do this using a small rotational cutting device called a bur, which allows for the most precise shaping. Next, they will form a mold of your teeth, which is transported to a lab to create veneers perfectly fabricated to match your unique tooth shape, size, and color. You may be provided with temporary veneers while you wait for your permanent veneers to be finished.

When your porcelain veneers have been manufactured and arrive at the dentist’s office, you will come in for another appointment to have them fitted and applied. After making any necessary adjustments, your dentist at Dental Care of Stamford will use bonding cement to adhere them to your tooth, creating microscopic bridges from your natural tooth to the veneer. Then a UV light is used to cure the bonding cement and secure the veneer in place. You can expect your porcelain veneers to stay beautiful for up to 20 years.

Straightening Your Teeth

Cumbersome, uncomfortable, unsightly metal braces are no longer the only available option for successfully straightening your teeth. Cosmetically focused orthodontics at Dental Care of Stamford features the acclaimed Six Month Smiles system, in which you can choose between invisible aligners or clear braces to fix the alignment of your teeth. Invisible aligners are ideal for mild gaps or crowding, while clear braces made of nickel-titanium wires and composite brackets help patients with more complicated cases that require further movement of the teeth.

Both appliances are discreet, effective, and only take six months to work. Rather than suffering discomfort and being forced to live with ugly metal braces for two years, Six Month Smiles appliances offer you a much better alternative. They allow you to benefit from a simple, comfortable orthodontic treatment that is usually less expensive than metal braces and almost impossible to notice.

Dental veneers are suitable for almost everyone. but they may not be the best choice for anyone who clenches or grinds their teeth because this can cause veneers to chip or break. If your dentist does decide that you are a good candidate for veneers even with these issues. they will likely recommend wearing a during the night to avoid damaging Your veneers you sleep.

For many people porcelain veneers and crowns can be an ideal solution. They create natural, beautiful results quickly and can address a wide variety of problems like:

    • Dark or discolored teeth
    • Crooked teeth
    • Missing teeth
    • Disproportionately sized teeth
    • Worn or chipped teeth
    • Old unsightly dental work
    • Spaces between teeth
    • Crowded teeth
    • Protruding teeth

Porcelain veneers last for many years. As long as the patient exercises proper home care to prevent decay or gum problems, gets regular professional cleanings at least twice a year and avoids unreasonable force on their teeth, they can expect many years of service from porcelain veneers. You cannot abuse them by using your veneered teeth to crack open nuts, pull pins out of shirts, or as one of our patients said, “use your teeth like a Swiss Army Knife”. Doing so would likely cause breakage.

Porcelain veneers are very strong and the glazed surface is generally impervious to stains. Just like a porcelain dinner plate can be washed, porcelain veneers can be cleaned and professionally polished to keep them looking great.

A classical porcelain veneer covers just the outside and biting edge of a tooth and requires a minimal amount of tooth reduction. A crown would go completely around a tooth and require more than twice the amount of tooth reduction. That is why we recommend porcelain veneers unless the tooth is extensively decayed beyond the point where a crown is necessary. Sometimes, in one patient, we use a combination of porcelain veneers and crowns to get the best, most conservative result.

You can eat normally with veneers. Foods like corn, apples, chicken, ribs, fresh fruits and vegetables, carrots, etc., are all fine. So are sandwiches and bagels. You cannot use your teeth to break open nuts or eat stale breads that would require a hacksaw without causing veneers to develop cracks or actually break. Repeated abuse of veneered teeth will weaken them and then, one day, something might break while you are eating a tuna fish sandwich on white bread. This would only happen if the veneers had been damaged by prior abuse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Questions

First, you will have a preliminary consultation with your dentist to discuss your options and decide how many veneers you would like to have placed. In some cases, crooked or uneven teeth may require you to wear braces for a certain length of time before veneers can be properly applied. Your dentist will typically take x-rays to evaluate the condition of your teeth. Signs of gum disease, tooth decay, or damage to the pulp of your teeth will require remedying before veneers and sometimes mean you are not a viable candidate for them at all.

Your dentist at Dental Care of Stamford will work with you to ensure you select the best matching tooth color from a shade chart and may use imaging software to create a preview of the expected results. When your exam has been completed, and a treatment plan is designed, it is time to schedule your procedure. It will be completed in two sessions over two weeks. Each session will likely take several hours, but dental offices often include amenities to help you relax, such as sedation, massages, audio-visual distraction, or other services.

During your first treatment appointment, they will administer local anesthetic then prepare your teeth by trimming them down by approximately half a millimeter, or the thickness of a fingernail. They do this using a small rotational cutting device called a bur, which allows for the most precise shaping. Next, they will form a mold of your teeth, which is transported to a lab to create veneers perfectly fabricated to match your unique tooth shape, size, and color. You may be provided with temporary veneers while you wait for your permanent veneers to be finished.

When your porcelain veneers have been manufactured and arrive at the dentist’s office, you will come in for another appointment to have them fitted and applied. After making any necessary adjustments, your dentist at Dental Care of Stamford will use bonding cement to adhere them to your tooth, creating microscopic bridges from your natural tooth to the veneer. Then a UV light is used to cure the bonding cement and secure the veneer in place. You can expect your porcelain veneers to stay beautiful for up to 20 years.

Straightening Your Teeth

Cumbersome, uncomfortable, unsightly metal braces are no longer the only available option for successfully straightening your teeth. Cosmetically focused orthodontics at Dental Care of Stamford features the acclaimed Six Month Smiles system, in which you can choose between invisible aligners or clear braces to fix the alignment of your teeth. Invisible aligners are ideal for mild gaps or crowding, while clear braces made of nickel-titanium wires and composite brackets help patients with more complicated cases that require further movement of the teeth.

Both appliances are discreet, effective, and only take six months to work. Rather than suffering discomfort and being forced to live with ugly metal braces for two years, Six Month Smiles appliances offer you a much better alternative. They allow you to benefit from a simple, comfortable orthodontic treatment that is usually less expensive than metal braces and almost impossible to notice.

Dental veneers are suitable for almost everyone. but they may not be the best choice for anyone who clenches or grinds their teeth because this can cause veneers to chip or break. If your dentist does decide that you are a good candidate for veneers even with these issues. they will likely recommend wearing a during the night to avoid damaging Your veneers you sleep.

For many people porcelain veneers and crowns can be an ideal solution. They create natural, beautiful results quickly and can address a wide variety of problems like:

    • Dark or discolored teeth
    • Crooked teeth
    • Missing teeth
    • Disproportionately sized teeth
    • Worn or chipped teeth
    • Old unsightly dental work
    • Spaces between teeth
    • Crowded teeth
    • Protruding teeth

Porcelain veneers last for many years. As long as the patient exercises proper home care to prevent decay or gum problems, gets regular professional cleanings at least twice a year and avoids unreasonable force on their teeth, they can expect many years of service from porcelain veneers. You cannot abuse them by using your veneered teeth to crack open nuts, pull pins out of shirts, or as one of our patients said, “use your teeth like a Swiss Army Knife”. Doing so would likely cause breakage.

Porcelain veneers are very strong and the glazed surface is generally impervious to stains. Just like a porcelain dinner plate can be washed, porcelain veneers can be cleaned and professionally polished to keep them looking great.

A classical porcelain veneer covers just the outside and biting edge of a tooth and requires a minimal amount of tooth reduction. A crown would go completely around a tooth and require more than twice the amount of tooth reduction. That is why we recommend porcelain veneers unless the tooth is extensively decayed beyond the point where a crown is necessary. Sometimes, in one patient, we use a combination of porcelain veneers and crowns to get the best, most conservative result.

You can eat normally with veneers. Foods like corn, apples, chicken, ribs, fresh fruits and vegetables, carrots, etc., are all fine. So are sandwiches and bagels. You cannot use your teeth to break open nuts or eat stale breads that would require a hacksaw without causing veneers to develop cracks or actually break. Repeated abuse of veneered teeth will weaken them and then, one day, something might break while you are eating a tuna fish sandwich on white bread. This would only happen if the veneers had been damaged by prior abuse.