Everyone wants the best smile possible, right? Having a white, brilliant smile that catches eyes and turns heads when you walk into a room shouldn’t be too much to ask for, should it? Our Exceptional Dentistry dentist and team in Palmdale, CA, definitely believe an appealing, healthy smile is within everyone’s reach!
Of course, this starts at home with your daily oral hygiene care – brushing, flossing, using mouthwash appropriately, eating healthy and drinking plenty of tooth-and body-friendly water! Your daily attention, combined with routine dental cleanings and exams sets the stage for healthy teeth and gums.
Still, there are quite a few people living with the assumption that the smile they want is just too far out of reach, too expensive, or just impossible to achieve. Maybe you can relate to the different attempts when trying to look and feel amazing — that new hair color, those fashion-forward outfits you just splurged on, or the not-so-hot eyeshadow the girl at the counter said would be great (sound familiar?). But the reality is, a smile that has chips, crooked teeth, tooth stains, or other problems, makes it likely you won’t feel as confident in your appearance as you’d like to.
One of our patients said it best, “Thank you for restoring my self-confidence when I smile. You can have the best outfit, the best hair and makeup, but if your smile doesn’t look good it kills the whole picture. Love, Soraia”
The good news is, any smile imperfection can be fixed these days, thanks to some big advances in dental technology! So if you’re one of those people who feels like a beautiful smile would be the cherry on top of an otherwise stellar look, take a seat and read on about what you can do to get just that.
Have you heard about these wonderful things called dental veneers?
Chipping or cracking a tooth is pretty easy. All it takes is a fall when working out, an angry toddler accidentally punching you in the face (something all parents can attest is far more common than those without kids would expect), or even just biting down too hard on a piece of food. Many of our patients have solved their smile issues with the help of dental veneers, which are great for these kinds of problems:
- Stained or discolored teeth
- Worn-down tooth enamel and teeth
- Broken or chipped teeth
- Uneven, misaligned or irregularly shaped teeth
- Teeth with gaps between them
Thankfully, fixing those chips or cracks is just as easy as getting them!
And you might be surprised by the difference it can make when a misshaped or discolored tooth is fixed. Here at Exceptional Dentistry in Palmdale, California, Dr. James D. Powell uses porcelain dental veneers to fix a lot of these issues with natural-looking results.
What are dental veneers?
Dental veneers are just wafer-thin porcelain shells that fit over the surface of your tooth. So if you have any small cracks or even teeth that are stained from years of coffee use, a veneer gives you an instantly bright, brand-new-looking tooth! Veneers can be used on one tooth or many — just depending on what your needs are.
Caring for your new veneers
Once you have beautified your smile with the help of dental veneers, you will want to take good care of them just like you do your natural teeth. Practice the following and your smile will thank you!
-Daily oral hygiene care: Your veneers need to be brushed at least twice a day, followed by dental floss to ensure optimal results. Without this, your gums can become diseased and expose the veneer borders so they risk being detached or chipped. Avoid this by keeping your teeth and gums as free from plaque as possible with daily oral hygiene care.
-Use the right toothpaste: Make sure your toothpaste isn’t harmful to your veneers. This means avoiding sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide. These can dull the shine on your veneers and even eat away at them. Typically gel toothpaste trumps paste as they don’t have those ingredients. You also don’t want to use teeth whitening products on your dental veneers.
-Use a soft-bristled toothbrush: Much like your natural teeth, scrubbing with a hard-bristled toothbrush can wear down the beautiful polish of your dental veneers. Instead, use a soft-bristled toothbrush to keep them vibrant and intact.
-Get your routine dental cleanings and exams: Wearing dental veneers means seeing our exceptional dental team regularly to check for any signs of developing issues and getting rid of hardened plaque – tartar or calculus. Regularly getting your teeth looked at and cleaned means your gums stay healthy and strong and any issues with the veneers can be fixed quickly.
-Don’t chew on things that aren’t food: hard objects can quickly damage dental veneers as well as your natural teeth. So chewing on ice, gnawing on bones or worrying pens in your mouth is a big no-no.
-Watch out for staining foods: Keep your new veneers looking pristine by avoiding staining foods and drinks. You’ll want to avoid dark liquids like red wine, coffee and tea and foods like bright berries and tomato sauce.
-Avoid tobacco in any form: Everyone knows smoking and chewing tobacco is bad for you, but they also stain teeth and veneers. If you want to keep that shine lasting a good long time, give up the habit and let your stellar smile be your reward!
-Your veneers can be harmed if you get hit in the mouth with an object when participating in contact sports. Be sure to wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth and veneers from harm.
Call today to schedule a consultation!
If you have been putting off giving your smile a make-over, dental veneers may be the right solution for you! Give us a call today at 661.349.7725 to schedule an online reservation to make your smile shine!
