Are you looking to revamp your smile? Have your teeth become dull or discolored? With age, teeth naturally discolor. Consumption of darker liquids such as tea, dark sodas, coffee, or red wine can leave a visible stain on your tooth enamel, making your smile dingy and less attractive. Stains from smoking can reveal your smoking habit before someone has even spoken with you. Whitening and brightening your smile gives you a self-esteem boost that is visible to others. You will feel more confident and will smile, talk, and eat with comfort.

You may be trying to choose between dental veneers and teeth whitening to achieve your smile goals. Both are excellent paths toward a more attractive smile, but which should you choose? They can change your tooth color by several shades and both can look natural, but there are some specific conditions that would make one choice better for you and your smile.

Dental veneers – porcelain or composite – often require the preparation or shaping of the teeth being treated. Your dentist will remove a very thin layer of your natural tooth, allowing the veneer to sit on top of it without appearing bulky or unnatural. Because the part of the tooth that is removed will not grow back, it is a permanent change to your mouth. Many dentists will recommend that you whiten your teeth first, before pursuing veneers.

Are your teeth crooked or misaligned? Do you have missing teeth or gaps between your teeth, especially along the front? Are any of your teeth cracked? This makes veneers a preferred choice for you over whitening. Dental veneers can cover a number of cosmetic smile issues, and will leave a patient with an attractive, even smile. Your dentist will shape your existing teeth to allow for the perfect placement of the thin veneer, leaving you with a beautiful, natural-appearing smile.

Talk to your Toronto dentist today about your smile goals and see if dental veneers or tooth whitening is the best choice for you and for your teeth.