What are composite veneers and what is their placement?
Composite veneers are a type of restoration for anterior teeth, mainly to modify the shape, texture and color of the teeth.
Its placement is relatively simple, although in most cases it involves placing a little anesthesia to reduce sensitivity and make a micro-etching of the tooth. In general it is necessary to retouch a little bit the shape of the tooth, since it is almost never done without touching the piece because otherwise there would be important alterations of the shape.
Once the anesthesia is applied and the tooth is prepared, an acid etching of the remaining structure of the tooth, which is enamel, is made and a type of adhesive is placed on it, on which the piece is then placed and polymerized so that the cement hardens. It is then polished well and a check is made after a few days to see if any cement remains. The most indicated cases are: modification of the shape of the tooth, color and texture, but there is some kind of alternative to it.
Dental veneers, ceramic or composite?
Dental veneers can be made of different materials, in this case composite, which is a new generation plastic.
Classically, veneers were made of composite, because historically the technique that came from the composite was used for previous treatments when they were not full crowns. Composite really has a great future because it is in the research of dental polymers.
One factor in its favor is that it is a little more economical and it is not as brittle. In addition, it absorbs impacts much better than ceramic. Ceramic is more demanding from the manufacturing point of view, it is also true that it is a little more, or much more, stable over time and that it has a superior optical quality. But both are really effective treatments.
How long do veneers last?
If we talk about composite veneers, the duration can be quite good in the medium to long term, medium to long term means between 5 and 10 years. Perhaps the disadvantage that composite veneers may have would be from the visual point of view. This is due to the fact that the composite absorbs water, becomes porous and this micro porosity makes it easily stainable, so the color of the teeth changes to a slightly more intense color towards yellow-orange or a little bit darker.
From the point of view of fractures do not usually happen, they hold quite well and resist well the forces of chewing.
What dental problems are solved with veneers?
With veneers we fundamentally solve esthetic issues, such as changing the shape of a tooth, the texture of a tooth, the color of the tooth, but also others. For example, a space that is very large can be closed with a veneer for a single tooth or by distributing that space, if it is exaggerated, with that tooth and the adjacent one. Another case that can be solved are contact points that are lost between teeth, which can be replaced with a type of ceramic restoration.
It can also be used in areas where there is a lack of contact between a tooth and its antagonist, being able to make those teeth function again and be able to bite again when a ceramic restoration is done. This is already a little bit bigger than a veneer, because the limit of the dimension of a veneer is not exactly closed but it can be extended a little bit.
For more information contact a dental veneer specialist.