I recently had porcelain veneers placed. I am enjoying them, but am starting to worry that my smoking habit will be a problem in staining my porcelain veneers. I know it stained my teeth terribly, which is one of the reasons I needed porcelain veneers to begin with. Am I putting them at risk? Is there something I can do to help them? It’s very hard to quit smoking.
Kathleen
Dear Kathleen,
One benefit to porcelain veneers is they are very stain resistant, even more so than your natural teeth. The bigger danger is around the edges where the bonding material can pick up stains from things such as cigarettes, or staining beverages such as coffee or tea. When it comes to maintenance of your porcelain veneers, one thing I always suggest to patients is that they brush with a toothpaste specifically designed for cosmetic work.
Supersmile toothpaste will help remove surface stains without damaging your teeth the way other whitening kinds of toothpaste will. The toothpastes you typically get at the store will use an abrasive to scrub off the stains. You absolutely do NOT want to use those with your porcelain veneers. It will ruin then. The abrasive takes off the glazing on your teeth which will cause them to pick up more and more stains.
I hope this helps.
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