Shell Maintenance: 4 Ways to Help Your Veneers Last

Since they’re made of porcelain, you should expect veneers to last a good while. They have an average lifespan of ten to fifteen years, often working quite well that entire time. Still, you don’t have to rely on averages; you can do various things to help your veneers last. You’d then get an even greater return on your dental investment! As for the relevant methods, here are four tricks that’ll make your veneers last as long as possible.

Keep Your Mouth Clean

The first tip is the most obvious one: Keep your mouth clean with good oral hygiene! By remembering to brush and floss, you’ll ensure your veneers work longer.  

While veneers don’t decay or get infected, they do depend on good oral health. They can easily fall off (or need removal) if their underlying teeth suffer cavities or infections. Given these facts, you should always brush your teeth twice daily and floss between them once daily. These habits clean and preserve your treated teeth, thus allowing your veneers to work properly.

Wear Oral Protection

If you’re open to oral devices, another idea is to wear a mouthguard as necessary. Doing so would defend your shells from outside forces.

Don’t forget that veneers can chip, crack, and break under force. Indeed, the shells tend to fall apart due to sports injuries, teeth grinding, and so on. Using a mouthguard protects your veneers from such things, thus preserving them for a greater amount of time.

Quit (or Avoid) Bad Oral Habits

Modern veneers are durable, but they can still fail due to bad oral habits. That means quitting such practices will help your shells last a longer time.

The habits you should most avoid are:

• Using Teeth as Tools – It’s never a good idea to tear apart packing tape with your teeth. That said, the habit is especially bad when you have veneers; it’ll make your shells break.
• Smoking –  Over time, smoking tobacco can stain your veneers and make them fail due to gum disease.
• Having Dark-Colored Meals – If you overindulge in dark-colored foods and drinks, even stain-resistant veneers can turn yellow or brown and thus lose effectiveness.

See Your Dentist Often

If you really want your veneers to endure, you should get regular dental checkups. These sessions protect your shells from early failure.

These days, dental checkups represent the best form of preventive oral care. Getting them twice yearly would let your dentist diagnose, treat, and prevent threats to your veneers. From there, you could expect your treatment results to last many years longer than otherwise.

For more tips on maintaining veneers, consult your dental provider. They’ll gladly share great advice!

About the Practice

The Dentists at Orenco Station is based in Hillsboro, OR. Led by Drs. Brandon and Malinda Kearbey, our practice holds a strong commitment to excellent, top-tier dental care. We thus offer a wide range of tailored and effective treatments, from dental checkups and veneers to tooth extractions, dental crowns, and more. You can always trust us to fix and improve your grin! For further details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (503)-640-4262.