Losing a single tooth may not have you worried, especially if it’s not visible when you smile. However, the damage rarely limits itself to a single gap — the loss of one tooth can have a devastating domino effect.
Cosmetic dentistry can do a lot to improve your smile, and dental veneers are a popular choice when it comes to hiding flaws. But most people don’t realize that veneers also play a role in better dental health.
Lovely Manlapaz Teodoro, DDS, at The Dental Center of Hercules helps her patients achieve both cosmetic and health goals with dental veneers. When you look in the mirror, you may see a few gaps or cracks and want veneers to spruce up your smile, and that’s music to our ears because we know that when you choose veneers for cosmetic reasons, it’s also a great decision for the overall health of your teeth. Here are a few reasons why.
The gaps between your teeth can be a point of personal pride, an annoying flaw, a unique way to whistle, or a key to your signature smile. But however you feel about them, they can cause you dental difficulties.
At the very least, gapped teeth can make it hard to chew and bite correctly, especially while eating certain foods. If you begin to eliminate various food groups from your diet, it may lead to nutritional deficiencies and eventually health problems.
Gapped teeth may also affect your ability to speak properly. You may notice a slight whistling sound or have trouble forming some words, depending on where your gap is.
Food loves to get stuck in gaps. Food particles that sit between your teeth too long create an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and eventually infection. In addition to gaps leading to infection, they can be caused by one as well. If your gaps are caused by an underlying infection, like periodontal disease, Dr. Teodoro addresses that first.
In any of these cases, veneers can effectively close gaps in your smile, save your teeth, and allow you to chew better, maintain a healthy diet, speak more effectively, and ward off gum disease.
The hard enamel that covers your teeth and presents a gleaming white smile can become damaged by things you eat and drink or by brushing too hard. Just under the tooth surface is dentin, a yellowish material. If you’ve damaged your enamel or it has worn away as you’ve aged, your teeth may have taken on a yellow hue.
Many people opt for veneers to get replace the old-looking yellow color with a bright, fresh white coating. Not only do veneers up the wattage of your grin, they also protect your teeth from outside elements like bacteria. Your natural enamel is a much-needed barrier, and if you lose it, veneers can step in and do the job.
If you seriously crack your tooth and the fracture runs deep, Dr. Teodoro may cap that tooth with a crown. Dental crowns are designed to envelop your whole tooth and keep it from breaking apart.
But if you have a minor crack, lots of tiny surface cracks, or a chip, veneers cover them up nicely. Choosing veneers to eliminate those cracks also helps seal them off from intruding bacteria. Cracked or chipped teeth left untreated can become infected to the point where a root canal is the only way to save the tooth. If caught early, veneers bonded directly to the surface of your tooth making it nearly impossible for infection to enter those cracks.
Regardless of your cosmetic reasons for choosing veneers, there’s likely a dental problem they solve at the same time. When you’re ready for a double dose of dental improvements, call our office in Hercules, California, to schedule an appointment with Dr. Teodoro, or book one online.
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