Can You Use Mouthwash With Dental Veneers?

Dental veneers are an effective way of dealing with a variety of dental problems. For example, they can make a smile whiter or cover over broken teeth to restore them. While caring for veneers is much the same as caring for your other teeth, you do need to take extra care in some ways. You don't want the veneer shells to stain or get damaged. If you're a regular mouthwash user, you may be wondering if it's OK to continue using your mouthwash. You may not be sure if the mouthwash will affect your veneers. What do you need to know?

Mouthwashes and Veneer Bonding

When your dentist puts a veneer on one of your teeth, they use dental bonding to stick the shell in place. Generally, this material is strong enough to hold the shell firmly, allowing you to use the veneered tooth like any other tooth. However, the bonding glue can run into problems down the line if you use certain types of mouthwash. For example, if you use a rinse that contains alcohol, then it may affect the bonding's strength.

Regular use of an alcohol mouthwash can reduce the bonding's ability to hold the veneer. If you expose the bonding to alcohol every day, then eventually it may start to degrade. The alcohol can weaken the glue that holds the veneer in place. If this happens, then the veneer itself won't be affected but its bonding glue may simply fail. The veneer shell may start to leak because it isn't firmly attached. This may allow things like food debris to leach behind the shell. In some cases, the veneer may come loose and even fall off.

Mouthwashes and Stains

Like natural teeth, veneer shells can stain. This is less likely to happen with porcelain shells which are more stain resistant; resin veneers may stain more easily. Some mouthwashes can stain natural teeth and veneers if they are used too often. This is more likely to happen if you use a therapeutic mouthwash such as one that contains chlorhexidine. These mouthwashes aren't generally meant to be used all the time; they are usually recommended for short-term use to help fix a specific issue like gum problems. So, if you use this kind of mouthwash a lot, you may notice that your veneer shells stains along with other teeth in your mouth.

If you aren't sure which mouthwash to use after you've had veneers fitted, ask your dentist. They can recommend safe products that won't harm your shells.