When your teeth are crooked, discolored, or chipped, your dentist may recommend placing porcelain veneers on the teeth to restore and improve their appearance. These are thin cases of porcelain that are bonded to the front of the teeth to cosmetically improve them. Dentists use incredibly strong bonding to affix veneers, and when completed, the tooth and porcelain shell are strong and durable.

There are two great advantages to getting porcelain veneers. The first is that they create an incredibly lifelike appearance of a tooth. Tooth enamel is actually translucent – allowing some light to penetrate through to the inner tooth. In the past, materials for tooth repair were not, which meant a whiter, yet fake-looking appearance. Porcelain is glass-like, which means it is translucent, just like enamel is. When light hits it, it acts remarkably similar to how enamel reacts to light.

The other big advantage to porcelain veneers is its stain resistance. In many cases, combining dental bonding materials with red wine, tobacco, tea, or coffee products meant bad staining and discoloring. Porcelain, being a ceramic, is glass-like, meaning it is not as susceptible to such staining, and holds up rather nicely in color.