Your cosmetic dentist has created custom porcelain laminates, known as porcelain veneers, to change the shape, color, position and/ or size of your front teeth. You have invested your finances into creating that smile of your dreams and now you want to make certain that you take good care of your investment. While porcelain veneers are not permanent, taking proper care of them will increase their lifespan and will insure that you maximize the investment made for your teeth.

Care of Porcelain Veneers

The average set of porcelain veneers lasts from five to ten years. By following a few easy care procedures, you can expand the life of your porcelain veneers to beyond ten years.  Here is what you should do to take good care of your porcelain veneers:

Treat your porcelain veneer just like any other tooth

Each tooth that has a porcelain veneer needs to be treated like any regular tooth. Make sure you brush your teeth three times a day and floss daily.

Take extra care of your gums

Often, the edge of your porcelain veneer ends right at your gum line. If you do not maintain proper care of your gums, they may become inflamed and then begin to recede from your teeth. If your gum line recedes, the porcelain veneer may become visible, ruining your perfect smile.

Protect your veneer from sharp impacts and heavy forces

Porcelain veneers are not indestructible. Like regular teeth, they can be damaged from biting or chewing hard objects. Refrain from biting such objects as:

• fingernails
• ice
• pins
• bottles and bottle caps

Protect your porcelain veneer when playing sports

It is always a good idea to have mouth protection when playing sports such as boxing, basketball, martial arts, ice hockey, or any other sport where injury to your teeth could occur. To help protect your porcelain veneers, make sure that you wear an athletic mouth guard for protection.

Do not clench or grind your teeth

Clenching and grinding your teeth is a common way to chip or break porcelain veneers. If you clench or grind your teeth during waking hours, you must find a way to control this behavior. If you discover that you clench and grind your teeth while you are sleeping, you should alert your dentist.  A plastic night guard can be created for you to wear while you sleep which will prevent your grinding and clenching.

Avoid staining liquids

While porcelain veneers are stain resistant, the cement bonding the porcelain veneer to your tooth can stain. This may cause your tooth to have a stain around the edge of the veneer. Besides maintaining proper tooth care, you should also avoid large amounts of tea, coffee, soft drinks, red wine, and other beverages and foods known to cause stains.