Get veneers. It’s the best thing you’ll ever do for yourself (albeit an expensive purchase). Millions of people across the world have them, and most have them for the aesthetic qualities associated with their new smiles, focusing on how they’re going to look, how they’re going to feel, the dental procedure itself and the adjustment period.
But what really matters is beyond that first year. After that first year, the expectations of reality and over time will help clarify what you can expect from the veneers themselves and why maintaining your veneers makes such a difference as time passes.
Expectations Based on Realism
Veneers are not something you get and never think about again. They’re an investment. They’re dental restorations meant to last ten to fifteen years or more under the right conditions. But those right conditions depend on how they’re treated, maintained and protected over time. It’s almost as if everyone goes out of their way to be careful with their veneers those first twelve months, it’s that subsequent time that shows how they’re going to hold up after that initial investment.
Do Veneers Hold Up?
The veneers you’re placed with should last through time, meaning regardless of what your natural teeth do (stain, chip, change shape), good porcelain veneers should remain intact. Porcelain veneers do not stain like natural teeth; not only are they a different material, but they’re crafted specifically not to yellow and remain bright. Unless someone is to eat them in such a capacity that their new color does not shine through, they won’t change much over time.
The edges/margins where veneers meet natural teeth decay much quicker than the veneers themselves. This should be expected. Where two materials meet and the equal force from chewing occurs is the breaking point over time. However, many people might note this is decently acceptable, but over years it becomes a problem—and if it becomes a problem, it’s a minor adjustment.
At the end of the day, veneers are only bonded to your teeth with cement; over time, this can weaken and wear down along with the margins next door where natural teeth stay. What you make of your veneers provides the implications over time; if you know how to take care of veneers correctly from the beginning it’s better than trying to assess things midway along.
Day To Day Impacts
Certain day-to-day habits contribute day after day which cause problems to emerge at some point in the future. For example, opening packages or bags with teeth; breaking tags off new clothing; holding things between your teeth — these habits do not seem problematic at the time you do them, but over time (stressors applied to specific veneers), they create chips or cracks.
Other habits—nail biting or chewing pens or chomping ice—have similar implications. Lateral forces are put upon these veneers that, at any one moment in time, wouldn’t constitute a problem in a single instance but repeated often put pressure on them that causes cracks.
In addition, biting down into hard foods may be problematic if done with chips or other rigid items—while naturally most people should feel fine using their front teeth on softer foods (sandwiches, pasta), using back teeth for harder items reduces front tooth stress.
Oral Care Hygiene
Oral hygiene is more critical than ever with veneers and while veneers do not cave under pressure (they do not need fillings), natural teeth—the support systems behind them—decay readily. When veneers decay along edges or underneath, it’s important to replace them since this change isn’t visible from an aesthetic standpoint but rather from a dental one.
How one brushes their teeth matters; brushing intensely isn’t as impactful as brushing too roughly. Hard bristles are bad for cement, meaning after years of wear, cement can wear down and cause decay near the margins unless porous bristles are used.
Flossing cannot be avoided either; just because there are now gaps between newly bonded teeth doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Whenever flossing occurs, fillings should remain in place—if cavities develop or rot surfaces occur due to lack of maintenance, that falls on the individual—not their dentist.
Cleanings
Regular cleanings will help prevent any crowns or root canals from becoming necessary due to infection. Many people end up getting crowns because they can’t see what’s going on behind their porcelain face. Cleanings allow dentists to see what’s appropriate and not down the line. Check-ups occur when small problems can become actual big issues—in chipping or with bonding or anterior decay that’s not noticed from someone who evaluates smiles every day.
What Happens When Things Go Wrong?
Small chips are the most common issues. This can occur if someone bites something unexpectedly hard or accidentally runs into someone else, but these accidents result in better preventive measures down the line (bonding or replacing).
Bonding itself comes off; this happens less frequently but can slowly go over time without notice—someone catches a lip all of a sudden where they didn’t before as a sign that the veneer isn’t flat against the natural tooth anymore. It also occurs slowly but sometimes can be seen and re-bonded with surprise.
Recession occurs where gums pull back over time—over decades it’s bound to happen with all teeth naturally and as they age away from one another for issues as simple as gum disease with time. As long as gum health is maintained properly there shouldn’t be a problem—but this is purely for aesthetic purposes.
The Investment
It’s an investment up front that no one wants to spend early but in efforts to last that long and cover gaps between replacing them, it’s worth it whenever preventive measures are taken into consideration. Interestingly enough, there’s no help beyond quality products—this means regular toothbrushes and cleanings for those who take care of their veneers easily preserve the lifetime.
Replacing them is expensive—as is getting a crown after two years because too many edible chips were bitten into and fragments fell off. Those who know they grind get nightguards; this investment is small in comparison to preventing that damage from leading to major issues down the line.
What Is Realistic?
People without any complications normally get 10-15 years out of their porcelain veneers; some people get 20+ years; some get them replaced sooner. What triggers this discrepancy comes from individual factor analysis—bite force among those who received porcelain veneers mixed/bonded appropriately vs anyone else who didn’t take care of their natural teeth may vary greatly.
If someone gets veneers at 40, they’ll likely only need them replaced once—maybe twice throughout one’s lifetime unless complications arise due to poor dental hygiene elsewhere.
Getting Replaced
It’s good news that getting new ones when necessary isn’t painstaking; old ones come off, prep work occurs, new ones go in like nothing ever happened.
Those who get the most out of their veneer experience know that they brush and floss daily; they avoid using front teeth except for eating, they use nightguards when they grind their teeth naturally anyway—they have all things in check with their oral health and pay attention to all other details—which are relatively easy—over a consistent time frame.
The First Year Triggers It All
It’s what you establish during that first year that sets you on that pattern. Those who establish good care patterns and maintain them get better results than those who get casual halfway through because that’s not why veneers were installed in the first place.
The reality check is understanding what’s expected from the first year onward vs what’s expected after it. Maintenance isn’t difficult and provides a sense of knowledge regarding quality control—that it’s durable, it looks relatively good forever although you must make it look nice forever eventually when it’s all said and done years later it was worth it (both aesthetically—and without issue).
