Did you know that Denver has nearly 1,000 coffee shops? We’re a city that clearly loves a cup of joe. While coffee is a lifesaver in the mornings, its richly-colored brew can stain teeth over time, causing many coffee-lovers to reach for whitening solutions regularly. Patients who are considering a smile makeover often ask our Denver dentists if porcelain veneers will stain like natural teeth. Many people wonder whether teeth whitening is part of regular maintenance for porcelain veneers. The answer? Read on!
Your smile is one of the first things people see. Are you happy with the image you’re presenting? For people with deeply discolored, crooked, chipped, or gapped teeth who want to improve the look of their smile quickly –without the long treatment time of traditional orthodontics—a smile makeover through porcelain veneers can offer incredibly life-like, beautiful results in just a couple of weeks. If you’d like to learn more or want to schedule a cosmetic consultation, call our downtown Denver practice at 303.534.2626.
Why Enamel Stains
Your natural teeth have layers of hard enamel to provide strength and durability needed to chew food every day. Enamel is actually the hardest substance in your body! Yet even though it’s incredibly tough, enamel is porous because of its mineral make-up. This explains why teeth develop “extrinsic” (or surface) stains over time. As you drink coffee, eat tomato-based sauces and soups, or sip a fine red wine, the richly-colored pigments in those foods can settle onto enamel and become absorbed by its porous outer layers. Once absorbed by enamel, the stains are difficult to remove with brushing alone. That’s why professional whitening treatments work not just on the surface, but beneath the first few layers of enamel. The bleaching effect reaches deep to pull out set-in stains.
Why Porcelain Doesn’t
Porcelain, on the other hand, is not porous like enamel. The medical-grade ceramic materials used in porcelain veneers does not absorb food and drink pigments like enamel does. This means that porcelain is extremely effective at resisting stains over time. You can expect the shade of your porcelain veneers, at the time of treatment, to remain relatively unchanged until replacement veneers are needed. This is great news for coffee-lovers or other patients who want to do away with regular whitening upkeep. In fact, porcelain does not respond to teeth whitening treatments at all.
Other Benefits of Porcelain Veneers
Their ability to resist stains aren’t the only benefit of porcelain veneers. Many of our patients looking for full smile makeovers choose porcelain veneers because:
- Veneers treat a wide range of cosmetic issues. Everything from chips, cracks, and yellow or misshapen teeth can typically be corrected through porcelain veneer treatment. For patients with mild to moderate teeth alignment issues, porcelain veneers can provide a simpler and faster solution that orthodontics.
- Veneers are long-lasting. Advancements in veneer technology and materials means that veneers continue to get better and better. Veneers placed today could last up to 15 or 20 years before needing replacement.
- Veneers do not damage the health of your teeth. Though enamel must be removed in order to place traditional veneers, the tooth remains healthy and strong. Today, minimal prep and no-prep veneers are very popular and, for the right candidates, allow considerably less enamel to be removed which means that veneers can even be reversible.
- Veneers can be placed in just two appointments. That’s right! For most patients, just two appointments are needed for a total smile makeover.
Your Stain-Free Smile Makeover Solution
Do you have questions about porcelain veneer treatment? Are you looking for the right cosmetic solution for your smile? Let us help. Named Top Dentist by 5280 Magazine, our practice has over 30 years of cosmetic dentistry experience in the Denver community, and can help you create the smile of your dreams. Call us today to schedule a cosmetic consultation.
