Have you ever glanced at your face in the mirror and wondered how much better your smile would look if your teeth were just a little bit straighter?
Veneers may be able to help. While these prosthetics have their limitations, they are great for making minor touch-ups like this. Learn more about veneers and the tooth alignment problems they can correct in today’s post.
What Are Veneers?
Veneers are thin shells made of synthetic materials that can be cemented to the front of your teeth. This covers the entire front of your tooth, replacing its original appearance with that of the veneer.
Veneers can be made in any size, shape, or colour you want. With a little clever positioning, they can also make the teeth they cover look straight even when they are not.
When Can Veneers Straighten Teeth?
Veneers work best on minor cosmetic problems. They can easily disguise small alignment imperfections like a slightly rotated or crooked tooth. They’re great for making small alignment corrections that aren’t worth taking more drastic action.
Remember that veneers are placed over your teeth – they don’t replace your teeth. This means that if the tooth one is being applied to is extremely crooked, the veneer will be too. Your dentist would have to remove an excessive amount of tooth material to camouflage the crookedness, which would leave your tooth structurally compromised and vulnerable to breaking.
Other Ways to Straighten Your Teeth
If your alignment problems are too severe for veneers to help, there are other ways you can straighten your teeth.
Orthodontic treatments like braces and aligners are the most obvious solutions to this problem. People have used these treatments to straighten their teeth for decades now. Both options have been proven to be safe, effective, and highly satisfying to patients. However, they can expensive, take a long time to produce results, and usually require many appointments for adjustments and case monitoring. Because of these drawbacks, they may not be an ideal option for some.
Crowns can also help make very crooked teeth look straight. Because they are expensive and require you to permanently sacrifice some of your enamel, they are not an ideal choice when you have more than one or two teeth out of place. However, they’re a better choice than veneers when the tooth in question is damaged or decayed. They can strengthen the vulnerable tooth as well as disguise its positioning.
Straighten Your Teeth Your Way
Straightening your teeth can be a life-changing decision, and veneers are just one of many different ways to achieve this goal. If you’re interested in exploring your options, contact Coscarella Family Dentistry today at (519) 969-8171 or on our website. We’d be pleased to review your case and help you determine the best way to get the smile you’ve always wanted.
