Porcelain Veneers – Gainesville, GA
Restoring Confidence and Transforming Smiles
Damaged, misaligned, and misshapen teeth can cause you to feel let down by your smile and unconfident. As time goes on, cosmetic imperfections can wear down your self-estesem and make you conscious about your looks. At Lifetime Dental, we want every patient to be able to catch a glimpse of their smile and make them grin even bigger. That’s why we offer porcelain veneers in Gainesville. In just a few appointments with Dr. Shue Her, you’ll be stunned at the beautiful transformation. He’ll take your smile from damaged and drab to dazzling, allowing you to feel confident speaking, laughing, and letting your true self glow. To take the first step, contact our office to schedule a consultation today!
Why Choose Lifetime Dental of Gainesville For Porcelain Veneers?
- Custom-Tailored Cosmetic Treatments
- Veneers Crafted From High-Quality Dental Materials
- Experienced Cosmetic Dentist
What Are Porcelain Veneers?
Dental veneers are thin, strong shells that are customized to perfectly fit over the visible portion of your natural teeth to conceal any cosmetic flaws. They’re made of durable dental porcelain that mimics the qualities of your natural enamel, so the shells themselves are virtually indistinguishable from your home-grown pearly whites. Most often, they are used to address:
- Severely stained or discolored teeth
- Minor crowding or misalignment issues
- Multiple cosmetic imperfections at once
- Enamel that has severely eroded
- Misshapen teeth
What Is the Process of Getting Porcelain Veneers?
The process typically takes place over the course of three visits, including the initial consultation. Once our skilled cosmetic dentist in Gainesville, Dr. Her, examines the health of your teeth and gums and deems you a good candidate, he’ll provide you with all of the information you need to make an informed decision about whether porcelain veneers are right for you.
Once you decide to go ahead with the treatment, Dr. Her will prepare your teeth by removing a small portion of your natural enamel. This is to compensate for the thickness of the porcelain shells and ensure that they don’t protrude from your mouth or look unnatural next to your other teeth. He’ll then take impressions of each of the teeth you’d like to have repaired and send them off to his dental laboratory to custom-make your veneers.
Typically, it takes a few weeks for the lab artisans to craft your final veneers. As soon as they arrive back at our practice, we’ll call you in to permanently place them over the visible portion of your natural teeth. After that, you’ll be free to enjoy your new and improved smile to the fullest!
Benefits of Porcelain Veneers
Patients who get porcelain veneers are ecstatic to show off their newly improved smiles. They’re also able to enjoy a number of benefits, including:
- Repairing several cosmetic issues with a single procedure.
- The natural look of dental porcelain makes veneers virtually indistinguishable from home-grown teeth.
- Dental porcelain is stain-resistant, keeping your teeth brighter for longer.
- A completely customized treatment from the first to last visit.
With the proper care and diligent oral hygiene, your veneers can last over a decade. If you notice any out-of-the-ordinary signs or symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact us immediately. That way, we can make any simple repairs or replacements before additional problems occur.
Understanding the Cost of Veneers
Veneers in Gainesville have a higher price than many other cosmetic dentistry treatments. However, it is important to consider what you are getting for your money. Your treatment has the potential to provide you with decades of confident, radiant smiles! Of course, it must be acknowledged that veneers are not right for every budget or every patient. When you come in for your consultation, our team will help you compare the advantages, disadvantages, and cost of each of your cosmetic dentistry options.
Cost vs. Cosmetic Dentistry: What’s Right for Me?
When you are looking to enhance your smile, you have several options in front of you. Here is a brief comparison of some of the most popular cosmetic treatments:
- Braces or other orthodontic treatments. Orthodontic treatment typically costs at least a few thousand dollars. They are certainly worth the price if misaligned teeth are threatening your oral health. However, if you want to straighten your teeth purely for aesthetic reasons, you could be undergoing treatment for months — or perhaps a year or longer — and not enjoy any cosmetic benefits beyond straighter teeth.
- Teeth whitening. Professional teeth whitening is one of the fastest, least expensive, and most popular cosmetic dentistry offerings. Unfortunately, your enamel can incur new stains relatively quickly, and whitening does nothing to alter the shape, size, or positioning of teeth.
- Direct bonding. Direct bonding, also called dental bonding or cosmetic bonding, is a quick and inexpensive way to alter the appearance of one or two teeth. Its initial results look similar to veneers. However, bonding tends to last for just a few years before replacement becomes necessary.
- Veneers. For many patients, veneers prove to be an “all in one” cosmetic option. They can disguise discoloration, minor misalignment, and a range of other aesthetic issues. They also have the potential to last for decades. Although they cost a significant amount of money upfront, they offer an excellent long-term value.
How to Make Veneers Affordable
Insurance does not typically cover the cost of veneers in Gainesville. That is because they are considered an elective, rather than a necessary, treatment. Keep in mind, though, that we want you to be able to afford your dream smile, and we are ready to help you figure out its financial aspects.
To begin with, we may encourage you to sign up for the Lifetime Club. This is an in-house savings plan that provides discounts on many services, including some that are not covered by insurance. Its focus on preventive care can also help you maintain your new smile after your veneers are in place.
Additionally, we are proud to partner with CareCredit, a third-party lender that offers financing for medical and dental services. Most patients who apply get approved for a low-interest or no-interest payment plan. You might even be able to choose from multiple plans so you can settle on the one that works best with your monthly budget.
Would you like to find out more about veneers and their cost? As your cosmetic dentist in Gainesville, our team is ready to help. Schedule your consultation today!
Frequently Asked Questions – Porcelain Veneers
If you’re interested in instantly attaining a perfect smile, look no further than porcelain veneers in Gainesville. With just one minimally invasive procedure, we can conceal virtually every aesthetic flaw in one or more teeth in one fell swoop. While you may be excited to revamp your smile, odds are you have some questions about this treatment. Dr. Her will take the time to address all of your concerns during your consultation. In the meantime, here are the answers to some of the questions about porcelain veneers that our team members get asked the most often.
How Do I Take Care of Porcelain Veneers?
Provided you take good care of them, you can trust your veneers to last for a decade or even longer before they will need to be replaced due to wear and tear or natural changes that happen with age. To keep your veneers in great condition for as long as possible, you should:
- Brush and floss your teeth every day
- Avoid biting directly into extremely hard foods like nuts, popcorn kernels, ice, etc.
- Break harmful oral habits like nail-biting, smoking, and pen-chewing
- Wear a mouthguard if you play sports of habitually grind your teeth at night
- Visit your dentist in Gainesville every six months to keep your veneers and underlying teeth healthy and bright
How Much Do Porcelain Veneers Cost?
The cost of veneers can vary from patient to patient. Therefore, there is no way for us to tell you how much the price will be without your coming in for a consultation. After examining your mouth, we can develop a personalized treatment plan, and a cost estimate, based on your specific needs. We’ll also thoroughly explain all of your payment options so that you can transform your smile without breaking the bank.
Will Dental Insurance Pay for Porcelain Veneers?
Because porcelain veneers are often considered an elective procedure, dental insurance plans will rarely cover the cost. However, if Dr. Her deems veneers necessary for your oral health (such as to protect a severely chipped tooth), your insurance may foot a portion of the bill. Our team members will file any paperwork you need, and we even offer in-network savings with the following plans:
- Cigna
- Careington
- Guardian
- MetLife
- United Concordia
For any remaining balance, we accept several other forms of payment. In addition to traditional methods, we accept third-party financing through CareCredit. This system allows you to take out a low-to-no interest loan and pay it back in monthly, budget-friendly installments.
How Many Porcelain Veneers Will I Need?
The number of veneers you’ll need depends on the severity of the imperfections you wish to fix, as well as the kind of results you want to achieve. Dr. Her often recommends placing four to six veneers on the teeth that are most visible when you smile. That way, your results will look as seamless as possible. However, it’s also possible to get a veneer on a single tooth.
Veneers FAQs
What Happens to the Teeth Under Veneers?
Because enamel is removed from your teeth to accommodate the veneers, many patients worry that their teeth will be harmed in some way. The veneer treatment won’t damage your teeth as only about a hair’s width of enamel is removed and the bonding material used is safe and non-toxic. The veneer shell also covers the entire surface of the front tooth, protecting it from cavities. However, it’s still important to continue brushing your teeth regularly and flossing every day. The tooth structure behind your veneers is still vulnerable to bacteria and plaque. By stepping up your oral hygiene game and moderating the amount of sugar you consume, you’ll keep your smile sparkling, and your veneers secure.
Do Veneers Change Your Face?
Over time, our faces begin to lose their youthful elasticity and our muscle tone begins to decrease. Healthy teeth are essential to keep your lips, cheeks, and jaw looking youthful. Veneers are sturdy and resistant to acid, helping to keep your natural teeth protected and providing some added stability to the tooth’s structure. This can decrease fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth, providing some of the same benefits as a facelift, but without surgery. Dr. Her can provide more in-depth information about veneers and their impact on your face during your consultation.
How are Veneers Different Than Crowns?
It may appear at first that veneers and dental crowns provide the same benefits. However, these two treatments are used in vastly different circumstances. On the one hand, porcelain veneers are laid over healthy teeth to improve their appearance. This can repair small dental imperfections and create a better tooth shape. Dental crowns, on the other hand, are used to restore severely damaged or decayed teeth, protecting them from further harm after they have been cleaned and shaped.
Can You Whiten Veneers?
The reason whitening agents work on natural teeth is because they’re porous—full of microscopic holes. The dark pigments from foods and drinks will find their way into these pores and become darker the deeper they sit, allowing more pigments to build on top of them. The chemicals in whitening gel like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide penetrate the enamel to break up and remove these pigments. That said, veneers aren’t porous because they’re made from a solid porcelain material. So, whitening treatments have no effect on them. If you plan to get teeth whitening done, it’s best to go through the treatment before getting veneers so everything looks brilliant and seamless.