Porcelain Veneers Overview
Cosmetic dentistry can give you the solutions you need in order to really appreciate and love your smile. Carter Yokoyama, DDS is a cosmetic dentist in Kailua-Kona, HI who strives to help patients find the ideal solutions to any of their cosmetic dentistry needs, and one of his most popular treatments is porcelain veneers.
Able to overcome a long list of issues, dental veneers are an ideal answer for patients with:
- Chipped or cracked teeth
- Mildly misaligned or gapped teeth
- Teeth that are discolored but not responsive to whitening
- Gummy smiles or unevenly sized teeth
As your dentist in Kailua-Kona, HI, Dr. Yokoyama will meet with you to consult about your needs, goals and budgets. Often, he can recommend dental veneers for several issues at once. They can address one or more teeth, and are custom-made from molds and measurements made by the doctor.
What exactly are porcelain veneers? They are, as they sound, thin shells of porcelain that are inset in the smile. Your teeth have to be specially prepared for the use of porcelain veneers, and all this usually means is that a bit of the enamel is removed to make just enough room for the super-thin porcelain shell.
These are then bonded to the teeth, allowing you to use them just like natural teeth, and they remain firmly in place, concealing and protecting the teeth beneath them. This is why many patients view their porcelain veneers as instant orthodontics or even as restorative treatments. After all, if you have cracked a tooth, it is vulnerable and compromised. However, the use of a dental veneer on that tooth stabilizes and strengthens it.
To obtain veneers usually requires two office visits. In the first, your teeth are prepared, molds are made and you leave with temporary veneers in place. In a few days, your own veneers return from the lab and we can then place and bond them. You can have an almost instant smile makeover. No one will ever be able to tell that your veneers are not your natural teeth, and they are even colored to match the surrounding teeth.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions about porcelain veneers, or about any of the other treatments mentioned here, give us a call at our Kailua-Kona, HI office at 808-322-0101. You can also use our online contact form and one of our staff will get back to you promptly.
