Natural vs. "Hollywood" Smile

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The Life Changing Power of Veneers

What Are Dental Veneers?

Veneers are a thin layer of dental material (porcelain or composite) that corrects the shape, color and function of your teeth. They are made to resemble the natural outermost surface of the tooth (enamel) and when done correctly- they can last for a long period of time.They are done on :

1.      Eroded or chipped teeth

2.      Teeth with defective white fillings

3.      Discolored and stained teeth

4.      Misaligned or crooked teeth when the patient doesn’t want braces.

5.      Congenitally deformed teeth

What is the Difference between Veneers and Crowns?

The main difference between a veneer and a crown is how much of the tooth they cover. A crown or a “cap” covers the all of the tooth that is above the gums, completely envelops the tooth from all sides. A veneer is a thin shell that only covers one (usually visible) side of the tooth rather than covering the whole tooth.

What types of Dental veneers are there?

There are 2 types of dental veneers:

1.      Composite veneers

2.      Porcelain veneers

What Are Composite Veneers?

Composite veneers, or dental bonding as some people call it are a conservative way to modify the color, shape, and sometimes function of teeth.

The procedure is generally done in one appointment and highly aesthetic results can be expected if done properly. A “white filling”, also called composite material is used. They are generally less expensive than porcelain veneers.

What Are Porcelain Veneers?

Thanks to relatively new discoveries in the 1980- we are now able to bond porcelain to tooth structure. Porcelain veneers are thin, but very strong once bonded to the tooth. They require minimal reduction of the actual tooth structure.

Their advantages compared to composite veneers are a better aesthetic result, and longer lasting restorations. They do not stain and are stronger than composite veneers.  These restorations take 2 appointments to finalize.

Veneers with Dr. Forai

Doctor Forai has worked and studied with some of the biggest names in aesthetic dentistry and veneers. He teaches a course on dental morphology and aesthetics at the Herman Ostrow school of dentistry and is eager to use his knowledge to transform your smile. 

The nice thing about dental veneers done by Dr. Forai is that he plans the case with the patients from start to finish. If you have photos of what you would like your teeth to look like- you can bring them in and the doctor will match them perfectly. Dr. Forai will also give you his opinion and recommendation on the shape and color of the teeth, and you will get to “test drive” them in the temporary phase, so that you are sure you are happy with your new smile.

What is a Dental Cavity (Dental Caries or Tooth Decay)?

How do you stop getting cavities? Is there a cure for dental caries? The answer to these questions is: "YES, but it isn't easy!" In order to figure out how to prevent caries, we have to see what it actually is. 

A Little Background

Dental decay or caries as they call it is the most prevalent disease on the planet. Tooth decay is actually an INFECTION of hard tooth structure, and we are only beginning to understand it. To comprehend what caries is and how to avoid it, we have to look at how it starts and why.

There are many things that make up a tooth. The parts most relevant for understanding caries are: ENAMEL- outer most layer of the visible part of teeth- it is an inorganic crystal. The layer under it is a hard organic connective tissue called DENTIN. The inside of the tooth contains blood vessels and nerve fibers and is called the PULP.

The saliva is a very complex liquid. It is deceiving because it has no color (most of the time) and looks a lot like water, but water is only one of the components that make up saliva. Other parts include a incomprehensible number of proteins and minerals.

The proteins are a type of a very specific glue that sticks the bacteria to the tooth.

Yourmouth houses billions and billions of bacteria at all times. Teeth are covered in bacteria that produce more and more offspring by the second. The mesh of all the protein, bacteria and other particles from our diet is called a biofilm- or dental plaque.  The biofilm is not the disease, it is present in everyone, even in people that never had a cavity.

The bacteria that are responsible for cavities eat the sugars from our diet and release a acid, as the by-product of digestion. The acid dissolves the enamel, while the minerals from the saliva re-crystallize it. This is a BALANCE that happens in every person with teeth. Once the BALANCE is disrupted it moves toward either side- RE-CRYSTALIZATION or CARIES.

The disease process is reversible until the bacteria have reached the underlying DENTIN layer. Once this happens the dentist has to drill out the soft, demineralized tooth structure and fill the space.

The Caries/Health Seesaw

There are many factors that influence the balance between HEALTH and DECAY. We have recognized factors that we can CONTROL with every day routine care: 

1.      the number of overall bacteria on teeth

2.      the pH value of the mouth

3.      The minerals that are present in the mouth

4.      The amount of saliva in the mouth

5.      Mechanical debridement of teeth

We now have better methods to prevent dental caries. We have to identify the contributing factors in each patient and to eliminate them, and coach patients back to health. There are many techniques that one can use to prevent dental decay from occurring, and re-occurring. Here is the link to some that you can use every day.