Bonded on veneers don't get taken out at night but snap on veneers can be and should be removed at night time. Therefore, it really depends on what type you have and it would behoove you to review the aftercare instructions.
Bonded veneers cannot be taken out
Traditionally, porcelain veneers are bonded onto the teeth and thus, cannot be removed even if you wanted to take them off. These are the type that you see on all of the A-list hollywood stars. They cannot be taken out at night time before bed.
Why it can't be taken off: The veneers are bonded onto the tooth surface using a complex process to ensure that it doesn't come off while eating and talking.
Porcelain is etched and then primed.
Tooth surface is conditioned and primed.
A layer of bonding is cured in between the porcelain and tooth
The photos below show how it sits on the facial surface of the teeth. There is no way for it to stay on unless it is properly bonded.
After the bonding process, it will not come off unless you crack it. This type of bonding is very different from gluing on a dental crown. Typically most crowns are cemented on which is different from being bonded on.
The photo above shows a veneer that cracked in half. As you can see, the portion that remains on the tooth is still sturdily bonded on.
Ultimately, the point that I want to make is that you will not be able to take off your veneer at night if it is the type that is bonded on.
Snap on veneers can be taken out at night
Dental veneers that are not bonded on such as snap on veneers can be taken off at night time before bed. The main reason being that they are not bonded onto the teeth. In other words, there is no glue/adhesive to hold it onto the teeth.
The video below shows a patient putting on their snap on prosthesis. This is to give you an idea of what we are talking about.
Just as easily these are able to be snapped onto your teeth, they are also easily removed from the mouth as well. In other words, if you have this type of prosthesis you will be able to remove and take them off at night.
Aftercare instructions
The great thing about veneers is that you don't have to do anything special to take care of them. You can practically treat them as if they were your natural tooth.
How to take care of them:
Brush them for 2 mins twice a day.
Floss them before bed time.
Avoid eating hard foods if you want to extend their longevity.
You can eat whatever food you want but if you choose to eat extremely hard foods such as ice cubes and crab legs which can crack even natural teeth, you will be asking for trouble. Having these types of food habits will increase the likelihood of you damaging your precious porcelain laminates.
If you have the snap on variety, you should take them off before bed. Aside from that you can brush them and also treat them similar to how you would take care of dentures.
Verdict
You cannot take off veneers that are bonded on your teeth but you can remove the snap on ones. For the former you will need to brush and floss them as if they were your natural dentition while the latter you treat them more like dentures.
Our dentists in Long island City recommend doing the bonded on laminates and NOT the snap on ones because there is no comparison aesthetic wise.
