However, today’s porcelain veneers are better than ever, allowing you to avoid the problems that often accompanied cosmetic dentistry in the past. Here’s why.
Design That’s Natural and Personal
In the past, cosmetic dentistry had a tendency to look fake and sometimes ended up looking all the same.
That’s partly because dentists used to adhere too much to some mathematical ratios that they thought determined the attractiveness of the smile. The most common was the “golden ratio,” which was discovered by Pythagoras and was thought to be associated with beauty. When all smiles are controlled by the same mathematical ratios, of course they’re going to look the same. And, even worse, these ratios aren’t commonly found in nature, even in naturally attractive smiles, so these golden ratio designed smiles looked unnatural and unattractive.
Other dentists would decide on their own personal preferences for smile design, and they would design smiles that looked like that over and over again. People with the same dentist tended to look the same, which is not what many people want.
Today, we have a much better understanding of what makes natural smiles attractive, and we can design a more natural-looking smile for you. We also understand the importance of having your own smile, so we can custom-design your smile so it looks like yours and no-one else’s. This can include maintaining the personality of your natural smile while improving the overall appearance of your smile.
Advanced Materials
The first porcelain veneers were actually made of fragile porcelain, similar to what might be in your china cabinet. They were worn by movie stars only for shooting the movie, and had to be taken off when the camera wasn’t rolling because they were very fragile.
These days, we have modern dental materials that are extremely strong. These advanced ceramics can have a tensile strength of up to 160,000 pounds per square inch, making them extremely resistant to chipping, cracking, and wear related to trauma or use.
These materials are glazed ceramics, which makes them very stain resistant. And because there’s only ceramic, they can look very much like your natural tooth enamel.
Dentists Have Come a Long Way
Of course, the proper use of advanced materials and sophisticated design depends on your dentist, and these have even improved. Dr. Nancy Nehawandian, for example, is at the forefront of the advancing edge of cosmetic dentistry. With her extensive amount of continuing education, Dr. Nehawandian has learned how to apply the most modern design principles and utilize the best restorative technology to get you attractive, durable results from your porcelain veneers.
If you want to learn more about what sets Dr. Nehawandian apart from other cosmetic dentists in the San Jose area, please call (408) 354-5600 today for an appointment at Top Down Dental in Los Gatos.
