Become a Gum Expert for Better Health

Become a Gum Expert for Better Health

About Me

Become a Gum Expert for Better Health

When you think about gum, you might think of blowing bubbles, or freshening your breath. However, the gums you need to think of first are the pink ones in your mouth supporting your teeth. I didn't know how important healthy gums were until I came down with a case of gingivitis in my early 20's. I had neglected my brushing and flossing habits for nearly a decade, so my last few years of college were marred by pain in my mouth and bleeding gums. It took me over a year of hard work to reverse the damage I caused and restore my mouth to peak health. My recovery included an uncomfortable and lengthy procedure known as root planing, and that experience convinced me to help others avoid the entire issue of gum disease. This is why I've created my own website to help everyone protect their gums the easy way.

 

Aggressive Dental Tactics That Can Cause Veneer Issues

27 February 2019
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

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Dental veneers are a major investment in the aesthetic appearance of your teeth. And, in your attempt to keep the tooth coverings as white, bright, and healthy looking as possible, you may actually be doing some things to damage the veneers. Keep reading to learn about a few aggressive tactics that may be causing veneer damage.

Strong Brushing

Dental veneers absolutely need to be brushed every day, and you should be working hard to keep your veneers clean. However, if you brush too hard or with the wrong types of products, then you may be causing damage to the veneers. Specifically, when you brush too hard, you will scrape the surfaces of the veneers lightly and leave them looking dull and unpolished. 

Brush correctly by using a soft, slow, and gentle motion. You want to use a soft toothbrush that is made with nylon bristles, but they should be thinner, like the type used for sensitive gums. Place your hand on the very end of the handle to reduce your pressure on the brush and use circular motions. 

When picking out a toothpaste, you also want to use one that will not scrape up the veneers. This is something that can happen when the common aluminum, plastic microbeads, and calcium carbonate abrasives are moved across the veneers. You want to choose an abrasive-free product which can be found when purchasing natural toothpaste. You also have the option of choosing a paste that has baking soda. Baking soda is one of the softest and finest abrasive agents, so it is safe for use with cosmetic dental applications.

Using Whitening Strips

If you do not have dental veneers on all of your teeth and notice that your natural teeth are not as white as the veneers, then you may decide to whiten your natural teeth by using either whitening strips or gel products. Unfortunately, you are not going to see the results that you want. The whitening products will not remove stains from the veneers. They will instead make them look dull. Also, your natural teeth will often look much whiter than the veneers afterward, and this will make your veneers look as though they are stained.

If you do place whitening products on your veneers, then you will need to have them polished, and you may also need to deal with natural teeth and veneers that are two different shades of white. 

Instead of using whitening products, you should speak with your cosmetic dentist about the professional whitening of the natural teeth. The professional can whiten then gently so they match the veneers. Feel free to ask a cosmetic dentist any other questions you have about taking care of your veneers.