Can Dental Veneers Straighten My Smile?

Quick summary

Dental veneers cannot move teeth or correct a bite, but for slight gaps or crookedness they can create the appearance of straight, even teeth in one or two visits. They are bonded to the natural tooth, so the tooth underneath must be sound: decay, infection or failing fillings are treated first. For teeth that genuinely need moving, clear aligners are the treatment to ask about instead.

Do you have gapped or crooked teeth? Have you wondered if braces are the right choice to correct your alignment issues? Slight imperfections that haven’t bothered you as you grew up might now seem like glaring issues to you. If the thought of wearing braces or some other kind of orthodontia for years is something you’re dreading, you should talk to your dentist; dental veneers may be exactly what you need to correct your smile concerns.

Dental veneers are very thin wafers of porcelain, composite resin or some other tooth-coloured material that are permanently bonded to the surface of your natural tooth. Dental veneers are incapable of correcting alignment (or “bite”) issues, but they can create an illusion of perfectly straight, white teeth. Veneers don’t require any of the metal hardware you might imagine with braces, and they take only one or two office visits to complete. Veneers are very durable and long-lasting, and with proper care can last up to twenty years before they need replacing.

If you have good general health, you are a candidate for dental veneers. Because veneers rely on the strength of the natural tooth to bond, a tooth that is decayed or infected cannot have a veneer. Dental problems such as fillings or other issues must be corrected before a veneer can be placed. Patients who possess healthy mouths with teeth that are simply crooked, gapped, discoloured or chipped should look to dental veneers to correct their problems.

If you are unhappy with your smile, talk to cosmetic dentist Dr. Anju in Kogarah today. Dental veneers could be the perfect solution for you. There’s no reason to wait for the results of braces when dental veneers can give you the smile you want now.

Contact one of our dental offices Kogarah and Haymarket

Questions patients ask us about this

Can veneers fix a bite problem?

No. Veneers are bonded to the surface of the tooth and do not move it, so alignment and bite issues are outside what they can do. They can make slightly gapped or crooked teeth look straight, which is a different thing. If your teeth actually need repositioning, that is a conversation about clear aligners such as Invisalign.

What has to be sorted out before a veneer can be placed?

The veneer relies on the strength of the natural tooth to bond to, so a tooth that is decayed or infected cannot take one. Existing fillings and other problems are dealt with first. That is why the process starts with an examination rather than straight to treatment.

How long do veneers last?

The article puts well-cared-for veneers at up to around twenty years before replacement, though this varies a great deal between people and depends on habits such as grinding and on how well the gums and the underlying teeth are looked after. Nobody can promise a figure for your own mouth in advance.

Where to read more on this at Village Dental Kogarah

Reading about it only gets you so far. These are the pages that explain how our dentists in Kogarah actually treat it, and what a visit involves.

Village Dental Kogarah is at Shop 5/23-26 Station St, Kogarah NSW 2217. Eight clinicians work across our two Sydney practices, including a dental prosthetist — meet the team. We look after patients from Kogarah, Kogarah Bay, Rockdale, Bexley, Bexley North, Carlton, Allawah, Banksia, Monterey and Sans Souci. If you would like to talk it through, call (02) 9281 0007 or book a time online.

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A note on this articleThis is general information written for patients, not dental advice for your own mouth. Teeth, gums and medical histories differ, and so does what suits them, so please have a dentist examine you before deciding on any treatment. If something in your mouth is painful, bleeding or has been knocked out, ring us on (02) 9281 0007 rather than waiting.