Getting A Dental Veneer? Know How Your Oral Care Might Change Afterward
Posted on: 24 March 2015
Getting a porcelain veneer at a clinic like Springdale Family Dental can help reduce tooth pain, beautify your smile, and protect your mouth from cavities and infections. Though for the most part you can treat your veneer like any other tooth, having one placed may also result in some slight changes to your oral care, both in the dentist's office and outside of it.
Maintenance Visits Are Key To Healthy, Pretty Veneers
Typically after having a veneer placed, your dentist will ask that you return to the office for a checkup in one week's time. This allows your mouth to heal and gives the dentist a chance to see whether anything might have gone wrong with the surgery. Often this appointment can help protect patients whose mouths are not taking well to the veneer from facing potential infection or other oral health problems.
If all is well, as it is in most cases, your next appointment will be at a regular six month interval for a checkup and teeth cleaning. One important difference is that your veneer will have to be polished after cleanings, since the intensity of a professional cleaning may take off some of its shiny appearance. Other than this additional step in the cleaning process, your veneer shouldn't complicate any other parts of your dentist visits.
You May Need To Wear A Night Guard
Prior to having your veneer placed, your dentist will check to see whether or not you suffer from bruxism, or nightly teeth grinding. If you don't know for certain whether or not you grind your teeth in your sleep, you'll need to undergo a quick examination for common signs of the condition. If you do suffer from bruxism, your dentist will need to make a mouth guard for you to wear when you sleep. Otherwise, the pressure of the grinding may crack your veneer, cause it to come off, or even damage your other teeth.
The guard will be fitted to your teeth, which should help to reduce any discomfort you might feel when using it. Plus, as an added bonus, you may see a reduction in the occurrence of common bruxism symptoms, such as morning headaches and jaw aches, dulling of the teeth, and receding gums. Basically, using the mouth guard at night will protect not only your veneer, but the rest of your mouth as well.
Your veneer shouldn't change too much about your oral care, but it's good to know what small changes to anticipate. Talk to your dentist if you have questions about how your veneer will affect you specifically, and you shouldn't have to worry about any surprises after the procedure is done.
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