Dental veneers are currently one of the most popular cosmetic dental procedures available, but what should you do once you have your veneers? Dental veneers are great for improving your smile and giving you the perfect white teeth that you’ve always dreamed of, but keep in mind that these cosmetic teeth are not invincible. That’s why it’s so important to avoid common dental veneer maintenance mistakes.
If you don’t take regular veneer maintenance into consideration, you will find that your perfect smile won’t last as long as you hoped it would. But how can you take care of your veneers and what kind of maintenance mistakes should you avoid?
Keep reading and learn more about preventing different kinds of veneer damage.
Stay Away From Hard or Sticky Foods
One of the first major mistakes that people with veneers make is eating crunchy or sticky foods. The last thing you want to do after getting brand new veneers is crunch on some ice, peanuts, or other hard materials. You also will want to refrain from using your veneers to tear open packets or envelopes.
After all, your veneers might seem quite sturdy but they’re not invincible. The durability of your veneers will especially depend on what material they’re made out of. If they are made out of porcelain, they will be quite durable.
On the other hand, if they are made out of composite resin, you will have to be a bit more careful since they won’t be quite as strong as porcelain or even your own tooth enamel. Whatever your veneers are made of, you should remain conscious of the food that you put in your mouth.
The Details
Veneers are meant to last several years, sometimes as long as 10 or 20 years. However, your veneers will only last this long if you take good care of them. If you subject them to hard and sticky food day after day, you might find that they might only last a fraction of their total lifespan.
This is because these foods can end up chipping or cracking your veneers. Once this happens, you’ll have to get the entire veneer replaced. This is not only an irritating problem to deal with but it is also quite expensive. So, to save both your veneers and your wallet, stay away from excessively hard or sticky foods.
Stay Away From Foods With Strong Pigments
Many people get veneers because they offer an easy way to get bright white teeth without much effort. However, your veneers won’t stay white for long if you don’t take good care of them. Another common mistake that people with veneers make is eating or drinking substances that contain strong pigments.
Many people don’t even realize that some of the things they eat can stain their teeth. Coffee is a big culprit when it comes to both tooth and veneer stains. Coffee may seem like a smooth drink, but it is actually filled with very tiny coffee grains.
When you drink coffee, these grains stick to your veneers. If you aren’t in the habit of cleaning dental veneers after eating or drinking something, these coffee grains will cause a problem. In particular, they will stay on your veneers and start to stain them.
Once your veneers get stained, it is virtually impossible to get them back to their original white shade. Does this mean that you need to give up coffee forever? Not at all!
What You Need to Know
Instead, preventing veneer stains is as simple as brushing your teeth after drinking coffee. That way, the coffee grains will never have a chance to stick to your veneers and stain them. This is the same case with other substances with strong pigments.
For example, red wine can stain your teeth a yellow or brown color if you drink it often enough. This is also true for cranberry juice and different types of soda. Again, you don’t necessarily have to give up these substances (although limiting your consumption of them would also help).
As long as you brush your teeth after consuming anything with a strong pigment, the pigment shouldn’t stain your teeth.
Don’t Use Abrasive Products
When people end up with stained veneers, they tend to take the task of whitening their veneers into their own hands. This is almost always a bad idea. One of the most common ways to whiten your teeth (and veneers) at home is to brush your teeth with baking soda.
Baking soda may seem like a soft powder, but it is actually made up of small, abrasive particles. When you brush your teeth with baking soda, these particles will scrape off a little bit of your stained tooth enamel and reveal the fresh, white enamel underneath. Many people think that they will achieve the same whitening result when brushing their veneers with baking soda.
However, this often ends up doing more harm than good. While brushing your veneers with baking soda may help reduce stains slightly, it will more likely damage your veneers. In particular, you will end up taking off too much material off of your veneers and they may start to look unnatural as a result.
Dental Veneer Maintenance Mistakes
There are many dental veneer maintenance mistakes out there, but they aren’t hard to avoid. For example, you should try to avoid hard and sticky foods as much as possible since they can damage your veneers. You should also keep strongly pigmented substances to a minimum since they can stain your teeth.
Finally, you shouldn’t use abrasive products like baking soda on your veneers since, again, this can cause damage. Contact us here to learn more about veneers.