×

Patient Letter

We express gratitude and appreciation to you for entrusting the Smile Institute of Family Dentistry with your dental care. In this time, gratitude and appreciation are sentiments that may be less popular as people are feeling a great deal of despair, anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty. The pandemic has affected the healthcare industry in tremendous ways. For dental practices, staffing shortages have had a severe impact since many hygienists were forced to retire or some stepped away from the industry after evaluating the risk-reward factors. As a result of the work force shortage, our practice has had to reserve fewer appointments. We ask for your patience. If you have an appointment reserved to see Dr. Mims, try your best to keep that appointment because her next available reservation may not be for several months. We encourage all our patients to optimize their health by consistent home care habits to include twice daily brushing and flossing. Although uncertainty is occurring all around us, one thing will not change, Dr. Mims and her team love seeing our patients and we are committed to provide 5-star service. Thank you for choosing us. We look forward to seeing you at your next dental visit!

Close

Would you like to switch to the accessible version of this site?

Go to accessible site Close modal window

Don't need the accessible version of this site?

Hide the accessibility button Close modal window
Accessibility View Close toolbar
Logo

(414) 760-2000

Online Payments
Menu
  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Our Mission
  • Our Office
  • Our Services
    • Our Amenities
  • Our Products
  • Patient Info
    • New Patients
    • For Your Safety
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
    • Appointment Request
  • Patient Education
    • Educational Videos
    • Cosmetic & General Dentistry
    • Emergency Care
    • Endodontics
    • Implant Dentistry
    • Oral Health
    • Oral Hygiene
    • Oral Surgery
    • Orthodontics
    • Pediatric Dentistry
    • Periodontal Therapy
    • Technology
  • COVID-19
  • Welcome! >
  • Articles >
  • Cosmetic & General Dentistry >
  • Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain Veneers

  • Created in Cosmetic & General Dentistry

What makes a smile beautiful? That's a complex question, but some qualities of a lovely smile are immediately identifiable: good tooth color, shape and alignment are a few of the most important ones. If your teeth could use improvement in any of these categories, porcelain veneers could be just what you're looking for.

Porcelain veneer.You may already know that a veneer is a thin covering over another surface. In dentistry, a veneer is a wafer-thin layer of super-strong porcelain that convincingly substitutes for natural tooth enamel. When bonded to your teeth, veneers can create a natural-looking, beautiful new surface. That's because dental porcelain, like natural tooth enamel, is translucent and tough. But it doesn't stain like tooth enamel does.

Recent years have brought remarkable advances in dental porcelain technology. These days, veneers can be made so thin that they can sometimes be bonded directly onto your existing tooth surface. In other cases, a very thin layer of tooth enamel — as thin as the veneer itself — needs to be removed to fit the new porcelain surface and make it look as lifelike as possible. Either way, the results are sure to make you smile.

Versatility of Porcelain Veneers

Veneers can be used to improve any of the following characteristics of your teeth:

Porcelain veneers - before and after.

  • Color — Teeth can become stained by the foods and drinks we like, from smoking, and even normal aging. Veneers are available in numerous shades, from the most natural to the brightest Hollywood white.
  • Size & Shape — Teeth can become worn down from grinding habits, or may not have the shape or size you want to begin with. For example, some people consider rounder teeth more feminine and squarer teeth more masculine. Veneers can be shaped and sized in whichever way is most flattering to your face.
  • Alignment & Spacing — Veneers can be used to close small gaps between teeth or make slight corrections in alignment while improving tooth color and shape.

Limitations of Porcelain Veneers

There are some situations in which veneers would be inappropriate. For example, if you have significantly misaligned teeth or a large gap, orthodontics might be a more appropriate solution than veneers. And if you have lost a lot of tooth structure from decay or trauma (or a particularly severe grinding habit), it might be better to restore your teeth with porcelain crowns that cover the entire tooth.

Creating a New Smile with Porcelain Veneers

The first step in creating a new smile with porcelain veneers is to communicate exactly what you don't like about your smile as it is now. It's a great idea to bring in pictures of smiles you do like, as a starting point for discussion. It's possible to see how veneers would look on your teeth in one of several ways. A model of your teeth can be created over which wax “veneers” can be placed; sometimes acrylic (plastic) or tooth-colored filling material can be placed directly onto your teeth to demonstrate the effect veneers would have on them.

Once the plan has been agreed upon, your teeth will be prepared by removing a small amount of enamel, if this step is necessary. Molds of your teeth will be taken and used by a skilled dental laboratory to create your veneers, and you will receive a temporary set of veneers to wear during the few weeks it will take to create your permanent veneers. When the veneers come back from the lab, they will be cemented onto your teeth.

Caring for Your Veneers

Just like the teeth nature gave you, teeth restored with veneers need gentle brushing and flossing every day. This will remove dental plaque and ensure good gum tissue health around the veneers. Regular checkups at the dental office will remain as important as always to your oral and general health. And keep in mind that as tough as veneers are, they may not be able to withstand forces that come from using your teeth as tools (to open packages, for example) or biting into very hard foods like candy apples — which isn't good for your natural teeth, either! And if you grind or clench your teeth at night, you might be advised to get a custom-made nightguard to protect your veneers — and your investment.

Related Articles

Porcelain Veneers - Dear Doctor Magazine

Smile Design Enhanced with Porcelain Veneers Dear Doctor magazine takes an in-depth look at Porcelain Veneers, a superior yet minimally invasive technique for smile enhancement. Learn not only when veneers are appropriate, but also when they're not... Read Article

Crowns and Veneers - Dear Doctor Magazine

Porcelain Crowns & Veneers Dear Doctor magazine examines two innovative strategies for improving your smile. In many instances, these two restorative techniques can produce nearly identical aesthetic results, even though they are designed differently for handling different structural problems... Read Article

No-prep Procelain Veneers - Dear Doctor Magazine

Porcelain Veneers – Without A Drill More and more, dentistry, like medicine, is finding ways to be as conservative as possible while providing the best possible results. “No-prep” or “prepless” veneers are one way to improve and enhance smiles without the downside of drilling away healthy tooth enamel... Read Article

  • Educational Videos
  • Cosmetic & General Dentistry
  • Emergency Care
  • Endodontics
  • Implant Dentistry
  • Oral Health
  • Oral Hygiene
  • Oral Surgery
  • Orthodontics
  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Periodontal Therapy
  • Technology

Contact Us

Featured Services

Click to find out more

  • General & Cosmetic Dentistry

    Dentistry encompasses array of services and procedures with a...
    Learn More
  • Dental Sleep Medicine

    You know it instinctively: A good night's sleep is essential for...
    Learn More
  • Dental Implants

    A dental implant most often takes the form of a small, screw-shaped...
    Learn More
  • Sedation

    Oral sedation (given by mouth) is a popular option for many people...
    Learn More
wda
Go to link
ada
Go to link
cds
Go to link
gmda
Go to link
phil
Go to link
Waterpik
Go to link
spear
Go to link

Hours of Operation

Our Regular Schedule

Primary Location

Monday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

8:00 am-4:00 pm

Thursday:

8:00 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

Closed

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed

Connect With Us

 

Our Location

Find us on the map

  • Copyright © 2022 MH Sub I, LLC dba Officite.
  • Admin Log In
  • Site Map