Common Dental Veneer Maintenance Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

How many times a day do you brush your teeth? According to a recent survey, only around 53% of people in Australia brush their teeth twice a day. Many people only brush less than once per day, sometimes not at all. 

Not brushing your teeth enough is one of the most common dental veneer maintenance mistakes you can fall into. But there are many more mistakes, and you might not even be aware of them. So keep reading and learn more about the most common dental veneer maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them. 

Flossing Incorrectly

Most of the time, flossing is one of the easiest ways to keep your veneers and natural teeth in good shape. But if you do so incorrectly, you could seriously damage your veneers. Remember that the way you floss shouldn’t change once you get veneers. 

Your new veneers aren’t going to seal the gaps between your teeth. Therefore, it should still be relatively easy for you to floss. But what is the right way to go about doing it? 

One flossing mistake people often make is using the floss to put a lot of pressure on their gums. Some people even move the floss back and forth in a sawing motion. This is one of the worst things you can do since it can cut your gums, and more than that, it might even dislodge some of your veneers. 

Implications of Never Flossing

If you never floss, there is a good chance that tartar will build up on your teeth and veneers. Tartar is a hard substance that only a dentist can safely remove. Besides being hard, it is usually yellow in colour and can irritate your gums, so it may even cause gum disease. 

If you already have gum disease, tartar likely only makes it worse. So, whether you have veneers, floss your teeth properly to avoid all these problems. 

How to Floss Properly

If not, the floss might eventually cause physical damage to the veneers, such as ridges. Whatever the case, the proper way to floss is to use the floss to follow along the edges of your veneers/teeth. The point of doing this is to remove particles of food lodged between your teeth that ordinary toothbrushes can’t reach. 

Using a Toothbrush With Hard Bristles

A lot of people think that their veneers are practically invincible. After all, veneers are usually made of very durable materials like porcelain or ceramic. However, your veneers, like natural teeth, are not indestructible, and you can damage them in many ways, not all obvious. 

One of the most common ways you may ruin your veneers is by using a toothbrush with very hard bristles. But, of course, you shouldn’t even use a toothbrush with stiff bristles on your natural teeth, let alone your veneers. But why?

Most people assume a hard toothbrush is better for removing food debris and cleaning teeth. However, a hard toothbrush can be terrible because the bristles are too rough for your veneers. In addition, these bristles have virtually no give, so they can needlessly scratch up the surface of your veneers. 

What You Need to Know

You likely won’t notice this at first, but if you use a hard toothbrush every day and several times a day, you will eventually notice changes in your veneers. In particular, you may start to notice some scratches on your veneers. You may even notice that your veneers lose their lustre (appearing dull) and aren’t as smooth as they used to be. 

This is because brushing with a hard toothbrush will forcibly remove the upper layers of the veneers. But, of course, this can also happen with your natural tooth enamel. Whatever the case, you should always stay away from hard toothbrushes.

Instead, try opting for either a soft or medium toothbrush. These toothbrushes will still be able to clean your teeth very well, and, at the same time, they won’t damage your veneers. So, if you have a hard toothbrush, we recommend you switch to a softer alternative to avoid any chance of ruining your veneers. 

If you go to a dentist, the dentist will also be able to determine whether you’ve been grinding your teeth.

Grinding Your Teeth

In your veneer maintenance routine, you have already learned a bit about what you should and shouldn’t do, such as cleaning dental veneers with a soft rather than a stiff toothbrush. Another important thing you should avoid is grinding your teeth. Many people grind their teeth but don’t even know they do it. 

In particular, many people grind their teeth while they are asleep. However, there are a few ways to tell whether you grind your teeth. For example, when you wake up, your jaw might be sore, your teeth might hurt, or your neck might be pretty stiff. 

Prolonged exposure to grinding could fracture or chip your dental veneers or grind them down until they get shorter and shorter. A simple, practical solution is to wear a night guard while sleeping; this should solve the problem and save your veneers. 

Dental Veneer Maintenance Mistakes

These are just a few common dental veneer maintenance mistakes; the best thing you can do is avoid them as much as possible. The failure to floss appropriately is a big problem that many people have. Brushing with a hard toothbrush can also damage your veneers in a big way. 

Finally, grinding your teeth is another big problem you should avoid if you care about your veneers. To learn more about dental veneers, contact us here

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