Dental veneers are a common procedure in cosmetic dentistry, and with care, the result is designed with longevity in mind. Taking proper care of your teeth can ensure the durability of the veneer, and yet there are instances where, despite your best efforts, the veneer falls off. What causes this to happen? And what should you do?
Don't Swallow
If the veneer should dislodge while consuming food, you should cease eating immediately. Thought it might not sound pleasant, you should spit the contents of your mouth into a bowl so that you can locate the veneer. If it should dislodge at another time, carefully extract the veneer. A swallowed veneer is a lost veneer.
Protect the Veneer
Place the veneer into a small container with a sealable lid. Though durable, it should still be protected before the dentist can determine whether it can be reattached as is. It will be sufficient to wrap the veneer in a small piece of tissue before sealing the container.
Get a Temporary Veneer
There might be some sensitivity when the veneer is no longer in place. The enamel over the tooth in question might be thin, whether this is from decay or whether your dentist has had to shave a small amount of enamel from the tooth in order to make the veneer fit. The surface of the tooth can also feel rough under your tongue if a residual amount of the bonding agent (dental cement) is still present.
If the veneer cannot be reattached for whatever reason and needs to be re-fabricated, then your dentist might fit a temporary veneer to protect the tooth and reduce any sensitivity. These are generally made of plastic and simply hug the tooth without being permanently bonded. Your dentist can remove the temporary plastic veneer when the permanent veneer is ready to be bonded into position.
Understand Why It Happened
Your dentist will need to assess why the veneer has detached. It could be the that the underlying tooth has deteriorated, causing the bonding agent to no longer be able to adhere the veneer to the tooth. This can be the case when the tooth was prepared for the veneer, and any tooth decay was shaved off. Unknown to your dentist, this decay could have progressed, causing the destabilisation of the bonding agent. A further amount of compromised tooth might need to be removed, or repaired wherever possible, before the veneer can be reattached in what will ideally be a permanent step.
In a best case scenario, your veneer will never fall off. But if it does, it can generally be speedily put back into place once the reason for the detachment has been determined and addressed. To learn more, contact local clinics such as DI Dental Implant Centre.
Share29 June 2018
Hi! My name is Sarah, and as a busy professional, I understand the importance of making the most of my time. That includes everything from having productive working lunches to making the most of my dental checkups. I have created this blog to help you maximise your dental checkups. In these posts, you can learn how to prepare for your checkup, which questions to ask during your checkup and more. I am also going to have posts explaining why checkups are critical to your dental health as well as the health of your entire body. Happy reading, and thanks for visiting my blog!
