Veneers are thin, custom-made shells made of porcelain designed to cover the front side of teeth. They are made by a dental technician, usually in a dental lab, working from a model provided by your dentist.

You should know that this is usually an irreversible process, because it’s necessary to remove a small amount of enamel from your teeth to accommodate the shell.

Your dentist may recommend that you avoid some foods and beverages that may stain or discolor your veneers such as coffee, tea or red wine. Sometimes a veneer might chip or fracture. But for many people the results are more than worth it.

If you have any questions about veneers ask your dentist.

Thank you for reading.  I encourage you to leave comments or questions below.  For more information on my practice please visit www.elitesacramentodentist.com

Your friendly dentist,
Dr. Sarah Po
May 11, 2010

Source:  http://www.ada.org/3000.aspx?currentTab=1

Here are some facts on oral cancer, taken from the American Dental Association’s fact sheet:

• Oral cancer strikes an estimated 34,360 Americans each year.  An estimated 7,550 people (5,180 men and 2,370 women) will die of these cancers in 2007.¹
• More than 25% of the 30,000 Americans who get oral cancer will die of the disease.²
• On average, only half of those diagnosed with the disease will survive more than five years.⁴

What is the number one risk factor for oral cancer?

You got it – Smoking.  This includes all forms of tobacco use including cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco.

Other benefits to quitting smoking are:  decreased risk of lung cancer, heart disease, COPD, improved circulation and breathing, eliminating exposure of tobacco to those around you via second-hand smoking.  From a dental perspective, you will reduce staining of your teeth and bad breath, and the health of your gums will improve.

For the complete ADA articles on oral cancer and smoking, please refer to

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/cancer_oral.asp

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/smoking_tobacco.asp

In future blogs I will cover more on the specifics of oral cancer detection as well as other dental conditions linked with tobacco use.  Until then…

Your friendly dentist,
Dr. Sarah Po