Tariq Drabu Offers Tips to Make Dental Veneers Last Longer

Dental veneers should last in the region of ten years, according to Tariq Drabu, a leading dentist and specialist oral surgeon. What many patients don’t realise with dental veneers is that they can break, chip and crack, so care needs to be taken to ensure that you enjoy the years they can provide, improving your smile and boosting your confidence in the process.

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Oral health

The first tip to ensuring that your new dental veneers will offer you years of use and enjoyment is to maintain excellent oral health. This means brushing your teeth twice daily with fluoride tooth paste for a minimum of two minutes per brushing and flossing daily to get to those hard to reach places. Remember to also concentrate on your gum line.

Oral health is imperative because the veneer only covers the front of the tooth, so the tooth is still your natural tooth which is subjected to the same decay as it would without the veneer.

Avoid force

The next tip from Tariq Drabu is to avoid force on your tooth. Ensure when playing sports you wear a mouth guard. Also refrain from opening anything using your teeth or biting your nails, all things that can put undue force on your veneers causing them to break or get damaged and having to be replaced.

Don’t grind or clench your teeth

Anyone who suffers with bruxism, which is tooth grinding or tend to clench their teeth need to make an effort to reduce this from happening. Bruxism can be treated with medication and mouth guards and clenching needs to be managed by being aware of what you are doing and remembering that the veneers are a semi-permanent solution that cannot be reversed, so you want to ensure their longevity moving forward.

Reduce coffee and smoking

Tariq Drabu advised that veneers can also strain, the same as natural teeth, so you want to avoid drinks and anything that can cause staining, especially if you want to enjoy the veneers for the full ten years, if not longer.

Eliminate temperature extremes

According to Tariq Drabu, the majority of veneers are made from porcelain which expands and contracts with hot and cold. It is important that anyone who has veneers stays away from temperature extremes to reduce the risk of the veneers cracking as a result.