As a young mother, I was reasonably ignorant when raising my firstborn. My biggest regret is that I didn't help her take better care of her teeth. Like many people, I didn't realise the importance of baby teeth, resulting in long-term dental problems. Recently, my daughter got married and some of my tears were for the beautiful, glistening smile she presented to the cameras. Ever since I realised the dental damage I had caused, I had been saving for my daughter to have cosmetic dentistry. The results are remarkable. During the course of this journey, I have learnt a lot about caring for children's teeth and corrective procedures that can be undertaken when issues arise. I am sure many of you would be interested in the latest knowledge and techniques that are available to prevent and repair dental complications. I'm Margret Devlin - thanks for visiting.
If you've tried to whiten your teeth, either with a home kit or through a dentist's whitening treatment, then you might have hoped to end up with a dazzling smile. However, whitening treatments can only go so far, and you may end up slightly disappointed that you haven't been able to achieve the results you were hoping for. Why isn't whitening working for you, and will veneers give you a brighter and whiter alternative?
Teeth Whitening Results Vary
People's teeth are not all the same shade of white. Some lucky people have very white teeth naturally; others have teeth that are off-white or even slightly yellow. Whitening treatments can't give you something you've never had. So, if you've never had teeth that were so white that they dazzled, then you aren't likely to get them even with professional whitening treatments. Your teeth will certainly look whiter, but this might not be enough for you.
Plus, it can be hard to whiten teeth evenly or to the shade you want if your teeth have been damaged in the past or have had dental work, like fillings. So, for example, if you have internal fluorosis stains on your teeth from ingesting an excess of fluoride when you were a child, then whitening isn't likely to touch these stains.
Using Veneers as a Whitening Alternative
If your whitening efforts have left you a little disappointed and your smile really bothers you, then you can talk to your dentist about fitting veneers. During this process, your dentist shaves off a tiny amount of your enamel before putting veneer covers on your teeth.
From a whitening perspective, the big advantage here is that you can choose the exact shade of white of your veneers, giving you complete control over the ultimate whiteness of your smile. So, if you like, you can end up with a smile that's so dazzling that your dentist needs to wear sunnies to fit your veneers. Or you can simply even up the whiteness of your smile by effectively covering up internal staining or discoloured fillings.
Veneer work is a little more intrusive than teeth whitening treatments; however, if you want guaranteed whiteness that gives you a more confident smile, then this may be an option worth considering. To find out how veneers can give you whiter teeth, talk to your dentist about possible treatments and how they might suit your teeth.
Share11 July 2018
