Foods to Eat and Avoid with Porcelain Veneers

If you’ve just invested in porcelain veneers or are thinking about getting a smile makeover, you need to know what to expect when it comes to daily activities. One of the things our dentist in Mira Mesa recommends is adjusting how and what you eat, especially with porcelain veneers in Mira Mesa.

Before listing out which foods to avoid with porcelain veneers, it’s important to know why a modified diet is required and how veneers are made.

What are Porcelain Veneers?

“What’s porcelain veneers,” you ask? Veneers are thin shells of porcelain that we bond over the front of your natural teeth. They’re cosmetic restorations that change the way your smile looks, rather than repair areas of decay or damage. Dental veneers are strictly cosmetic.

What do porcelain veneers look like? Like a natural smile! Each one is handcrafted to look like a whiter, straighter tooth and then bonded to the corresponding tooth in your mouth. Normally we recommend placing at least 6-8 veneers across your upper front teeth simultaneously for best results.

Veneers are made out of strong porcelain materials, but they aren’t invincible. Which is why you’ll need to alter how and what you eat.

How Dental Veneers are Applied

Every dental veneer is bonded to the front of the tooth with a special cement-type agent. This material is strong and similar to what’s used for dental crowns. But if you eat something too sticky or hard, it could potentially affect the seal between your veneer and tooth, or cause damage to the porcelain.

For the first 24-48 hours, be sure not to bite down into anything too firm with your dental veneers. The bonding agent needs to fully cure before you use those teeth to chew anything.

What Not to Eat With Dental Veneers

The same rules apply for dental veneers as similar cosmetic work on your front teeth (like bonding.) You don’t want to bite straight into anything too hard, like an apple, nuts, or a carrot. The excess force could potentially dislodge the bond between your veneer and tooth, causing it to come loose. Knowing how dental veneers are applied, this usually isn’t a major issue, but you still need to take some precautions.

Instead of biting something hard with your veneers, move your food a little further over to the side and bite into it with a back tooth. This will remove any excess force to your dental veneers without changing your diet.

Even though porcelain is extremely strong, you want to go out of the way to prevent it from chipping. Biting hard and crunchy foods is a potential risk. As is biting your nails, using your teeth to tear open packages, or holding things with your mouth (like bobby pins, pencils, or anything else.)

Don’t take foods out of your diet. Just change the way you bite or chew them. Move the firmer ones to teeth further back in your mouth instead of biting straight down into them with your front teeth.

Added Protection Against Breakage

Besides eating hard or crunchy foods with veneers, you also need to worry about chipping from other teeth. Our Mira Mesa dentist recommends sleeping in a protective nightguard in case you grind or clench your teeth while you’re sleeping. Excess clenching will cause the porcelain to fracture, requiring the total replacement of your dental veneers.

Professionally fitted mouthguards are comfortable, secure, and offer a high level of protection. We can make them right here at our office and recommend them to all of our smile makeover patients.

Porcelain Veneers in Mira Mesa

Scripps West Dental offers dramatic smile makeovers and dental veneers treatments. Our dentist in Mira Mesa customizes each treatment plan to fit the unique physical characteristics of the individual, ensuring the best aesthetic outcome. But even understanding how dental veneers are applied, we want to help them last as long as possible. Wondering who does porcelain veneers near me? Call our Mira Mesa dentist today for a consultation!