You’ve probably heard of dental veneers—most people think of them as what celebrities and other Hollywood-types use to create glimmering, bright white smiles. Although that is true, veneers are actually a very common treatment that is available to anyone who is unhappy with the appearance of their teeth. If you’ve always wanted to change some facet of your smile’s appearance, consider how dental veneers can help.

What Dental Veneers Are

A dental veneer is a thin shell of porcelain that is bonded to the outer surface of a tooth. To make this possible, a small amount of tooth structure is shaved away to make room for the veneer.

Dental veneers can be customized in a number of ways, including color, shape, size, and more. This flexibility gives them many different uses for enhancing the appearance of one’s smile.

Cosmetic Issues That Veneers Can Fix

Dental veneers can fix several cosmetic issues, including:

• Stained or discolored teeth
• Broken or chipped teeth
• Misshapen teeth
• Crooked teeth
• Gaps between the teeth

For example, if you have teeth that appear yellow due to lost enamel, veneers can be placed that have a color of your choosing, instantly improving the color of your teeth. One of the tremendous advantages of porcelain is that it is translucent, just like natural teeth. What this means is that porcelain allows transmission of light, giving them an incredibly lifelike appearance.

If you have small gaps between your teeth, the veneers can simply be designed to be slightly wider than your natural tooth, thus closing the gap. The same is true for overlapped teeth. The dentist can simply shave down a little more tooth structure, making room for veneers that can be aligned symmetrically.

If you’re unhappy with the appearance of your teeth but have always thought that there was nothing that could be done to improve it, talk to your dentist about veneers—you may be surprised at the results you get!