Hi, I’m Dr Thea, one of the dentists here at Dental House Group.
The other day, our patient John from Hillside was here at our Sunbury clinic for his general checkup. His teeth are a bit crowded, and their sizes are not even. He has been considering getting dental veneers to upgrade his smile, and wanted to know if he had to get braces before getting veneers.
That is an excellent question, so I thought I would answer it in a video for others who have the same concern.
First, you should know that both braces and veneers can be used to straighten teeth and enhance your smile. Some patients want veneers to change the shape of their teeth. Each patient is unique, so when patients come to us asking about dental veneers, we will determine the best treatment on a case-by-case evaluation.
Veneers are well known to help quickly straighten teeth without enduring the long treatment time needed for braces. Getting veneers before braces could cause problems. That’s because braces will bond better to your natural teeth, but if bonded to veneers, it can damage the porcelain. But there are more reasons to get braces first, mainly because braces can address some dental issues that veneers cannot.
Sometimes crooked teeth can cause problems that cannot be fixed with a cosmetic solution like veneers. Crowded teeth can trap bacteria and plaque and affect your oral hygiene, leading to bad breath and cavities. This can affect your oral health and make you feel self-conscious. Braces can move your teeth into a better position to avoid these problems.
Braces can align your entire set of teeth so they fit together more comfortably. You see, sometimes crooked teeth can create an underbite, overbite or crossbite. This can lead to jaw pain and temporomandibular jaw disorder or TMD. This problem can cause jaw and facial pain and even cause ringing in your ears.
Braces can help bring all your teeth into alignment, which can fix your bite and any pain associated with poor alignment. Straighter teeth can also protect them from excessive wear or cracking and chipping that crooked teeth sometimes cause.
Patients enjoy having straight teeth because it makes them feel happy with their smile. Having straighter teeth can also help you speak more clearly and eat without problems. Teeth that are not properly spaced out can also be fixed with braces, making oral hygiene such as brushing and flossing easier. Straight teeth don’t have many nooks and crannies where food and bacteria can hide, so there’s less chance that cavities will develop between teeth.
Veneers are more of a cosmetic fix, but can also help protect and strengthen teeth. They are a great solution when only one or a few teeth are out of place, and can improve your smile in a much shorter time than braces. They can also fix the shape of your teeth or improve teeth that are discoloured, which braces cannot do.
I hope I was able to help clarify that braces address different problems than veneers, but they can also work together to bring you the beautiful smile you are looking for.
If you are looking to upgrade your smile with veneers or braces, we would love to help. Here at Dental House Group, we offer flexible payment plans, which means you can get your dream smile faster!
Simply call us on 1800GENTLE, DM us on social media, or complete the form on our website and we will help you organise a consultation. See you in the next video!
