Veneers

I have a long dental road ahead of me AGAIN (my own fault) but my grounding so to speak is hopefully getting six veneers on my top front teeth. My two front teeth are angled in. I have been asking some questions regarding the veneers but have not spoken to anyone that has them. If anyone here has veneers can you please tell me if they were painful to get? I will of course need sedation. Are they painful after? What type of process do they go through so to speak to prepare your real teeth? Do they take impressions? Are your actual teeth still there in full or do they grind them or something of that nature? My dentist said he would have to re-shape the one front tooth that is angled the most. I am not quite sure what that means. I saw my virtual smile and really love it but I am afraid of a lot of things with the veneers if I can ever afford to get them. Can the veneers be put on in one visit? Are you able to floss? Bite into an apple? I am so sorry for all the silly questions. If my dental work does not cost much (yeah right) and I can go through with it (another big if) I would like to eventually get the veneers as a reward to myself. They are going to cost over $9000 (I know it's expensive) so I would love to hear about anyone else's experience with them. I really appreciate the advice and help. Thank you everyone.

Hi Queen

I do not have them but have sat in on many procedures and worked with our office manger that had 12 done. Here is an overview.

Once they are done you can eat normally as they function like natural teeth. You can floss and do anything you can with natural teeth. They are usually done in two visits.
Your teeth are shaped to fit them. This is done with a rotary tool. It is similar to a filling, but less work is usually needed.
Once the teeth are shaped, temporary ones are put on until the lab makes the permanent ones. You will also have impressions done so the permanent ones can be made. Your second visit is to put on the permanent ones.
Almost no adjustment period except for excessive smiling because they look so good!
Discomfort is minimal, no more than a filling.


The permanent ones are cemented on to your natural teeth and a bit of bonding is done at the margins.
I hope this helps.

I've been advised not to get vaneers by the dentist as they call fall off ;-(

Thanks Stress Doc. That does help. I have a silly question. One tooth is pretty angled. How can they shape it with a tool without causing damage to the tooth? Won't it expose something in the tooth and cause damage? Do you know if the other teeth have to be whitened first before the veneers go on? I am not a candidate for a retainer as there was to much movement. I do not want the hassle of metal braces. I am not sure if I would be a candidate for invisalign braces but would prefer the veneers. They are about $3000 more. Keeping the idea of possibly being able to get these is keeping my mind occupied with straight teeth instead of with pure fear of my dental appointment on Tuesday. When I get anxious and nervous about the what if of my appointment (It is a cleaning and x-rays..........I hate those) I look at the virtual smile the dentist gave me. Does anyone know why if they just took a panoramic x-ray to have my teeth out why would they need to take full mouth x-rays? I really do not want to go through more of them. I am terrified of what they will find and what work I will need. Ugh!! One of my first questions that I asked the dentist is if the veneers would fall off. He told me if they did his wife would shoot him. She has veneers too. Thank you Stress Doc for the over view on the veneer procedure. I appreciate it. Someday I hope to smile with straight front teeth. It is one of my dreams. Silly isn't it!! Thanks once again.

People do have problems with veneers because as with anything in dentistry it is in the skill of the dentist and the suitability of you the patient (do you grind your teeth at night for example?) for any procedure (particularly a cosmetic one). Badly done veneers can cause your bite to be off for example. How experienced is your dentist at doing them?

If your smile can be corrected with orthodontics and no veneers; or orthodontics and fewer veneers, I really would do that in preference. Orthodontics doesn't remove tooth structure - you can't put the tooth structure back. If they really messed up, you could need a root canal, then crown and so on and this is your front teeth you are talking about...the most precious in your mouth from a self-esteem perspective.

You can however opt for veneers after orthodontistry if you are still not satisfied and are desperate for the perfect smile.
Cosmetic dentists charge outrageous amounts for veneers related to the chairtime involved to provide them....3 hours doing an intricate root canal to save a tooth is money well spent....you'd get quite a few root canals for $9000!

Can you tell I am not a fan of veneers or cosmetic stuff in general? Has your dentist himself got any veneers? Dentists don't normally like having their own tooth structure removed, this is the reason for themselves many of them opt for gold crowns on molars.

Please go into it with open eyes...google a bit....and seriously consider the slower ortho route since it will do less potential damage to your healthy teeth.

Thanks Brit for the advice. It is appreciated. I appreciate everyone giving me different views and angles on veneers. I have TMJ and I do grind my teeth at night. I have to wear an NTI nightguard that goes on the front few teeth. I know I still grind on it as I wake up and hear the grating noise on the guard. My dentists wife has the veneers and I believe one or two of his children do as well. I have not asked him personally if he has them. For $100 I can see if I am a candidate for invisalign braces. I do not want any more teeth removed. The five I recently had out sort of did me in for a while if you know what I mean. I still have one wisdom tooth left. Since I had the five teeth out I do worry about my teeth shifting and I also worry that if I get the veneers my teeth will shift, making the money I spent useless. I know there are a lot of things to consider. I remember once my son telling me I had big front teeth. I know he is a child but kids can be quite honest when no one else is. They are a little large and I realize it but when my son noticed I just felt even more self conscious. I do worry about the shaping of the one tooth. I already have three crowns and a root canal. I am sure more are to follow. But you are right. These are my front teeth and to me the most important as far as self image is concerned. I know for certain I do not want metal braces but I guess for $100 I can see if invisalign would work for me. If I am not a candidate I get the $100 back. When you see how straight your teeth look in the virtual smile you get so excited and I myself would spent a lot just to get those teeth straight. Thanks for giving me something to think about and for the link to read. THe dentist said the cost would be about $1000 to $1200 for each veneer. Brit, have you ever had cosmetic work done? My dentist does cosmetic dentistry a lot. It is one of his specialties. That and sedation dentistry. He also works with people with sleep apnea. He is a general and cosmetic dentist. Thanks again for the link and for the advice and help. I appreciate everyone's reponses.

Another alternative to veneers is bonding. I was going to have veneers done, but when I heard that they are basically irreversible (because they have to shave a bit of your tooth enamel off) and they are SOOOO EXPENSIVE...it was going to cost me $14,000.
I just had most of my teeth bonded last month and they look beautiful...just like natural teeth. The procedure is like a filling......you may or may not need Novacaine....The cost is SOOO much less I paid $1700 (that's $1700 for ALL the teeth not 1 or 2!) versus $14,000.
There's a lot of time involved....the first visit was a little over 4 hours to do my uppers, little over 2 hours on the second visit to do my lowers.
I grind my teeth also, so bonding might be something you could consider.
Good luck!!

No I haven't but I did have orthodontics in 1970s which has left me with one tooth on top that is not perfectly in alignment, the bottom are pretty decent. I like my smile but am not after Hollywood Perfection or anything. The funny thing is my relatives who are older (in their 70s) always go on about what a nice smile I have..it's because they never got the ortho and have very crooked teeth..mine is not perfect though.
I did wonder about having one veneer to sort the single tooth out but when I looked into it I was put off. To get the best look you have to veneer multiple teeth and that is too much unnecessary damage to my precious teeth to me. I haven't explored ortho as I am not really that bothered it was just a weak moment I had.

That link is pretty good - have now read it - the other point they make which applies to crowns as well is that once you've got into veneers, you have to keep having them replaced, at best they probably only last 10-15 years...so if you do go ahead remember to save up for the replacements.

All dental work fails...even necessary removal of decay dental work...may take 50 years with amalgams....so the same holds true for cosmetic dental work it fails over time...and needs to be replaced.

Loads of people have braces even as adults, it's no big deal and having a compromised smile in the front for a short period of time shouldn't put you off (in fact you can get the linking things in all different colours including clear - have been researching for my kids), going that route...you have years to live after the orthodontics flashing your perfect smile. I'm in my late forties, finished my ortho in mid 1970s, still looks good...it was free ortho on UK NHS....my point I think is that ortho is a more permanent solution for a lower outlay and the only downside is wearing the braces (the pain stuff is exaggerated by the way - it just aches a bit after the brace has been tightened sometimes ) but people looking at you when you are wearing the braces as an adult know you are doing it to fix your teeth and really probably admire you...so I don't think that's a good reason to dismiss ortho as it's only a short period in your life.
If your dentist is an experienced cosmetic dentist, you will likely get a great result from veneers and suffer only minimal consequences (sensitivity etc) but you will still be 'on board' for the cycle of replacement years down the line and I suspect this is the bit they often forget to point out in BIG LETTERS $$$$9000 x3 not x1.
You'll do whatever you want to do based on how important your smile is to you but sometimes we dismiss the optimal solution for insufficient info/unfounded fears (e.g. so what if you need another extraction for braces? sedation)... where elective cosmetic treatment is concerned i.m.h.o. dentists don't necessarily have their patients' best interest at heart...the higher profit margin than for general restorative dentistry (justified by decay on x-rays or toothache) is a big temptation for them, the only justification is your the patient's desire for a perfect smile...so you bring this treatment on yourself more...you just need to be aware...men don't tend to get sucked into the veneer route so much because they are not so vain lol...sensible chaps really.

If your dentist doesn't do invisalgn or ortho then he's likely to play up the advantages of veneers and play up the downsides of ortho - he wouldn't be human if he didn't do this...it's what salespeople do...wait I hear you say...they are health care professionals not salespeople.....????

True, the bonding work done on my teeth I'm sure will need to get replaced or re-done at some point. The plus side the cost would be only the cost of a filling. Also, with bonding, you could do one or two replacements at a time, save up, and then get a few more done. Unlike veneers, where they have to do the whole group at one time, not just one tooth.

Thanks Brit and everyone for helping me. I did not realize the veneers may need replacing down the road. You gave me other options to look at and I do appreciate it. I guess when you are excited to finally have straight teeth you go in with blinders on so to speak. Thanks for grounding me and giving me other alternatives to look into. $9000 is a lot of money. I do not want permanent sensitivity or other complications that might come along with them. I will do more research on the other options and ask the dentist as well. I hate seeing all those commercials with people with perfectly straight teeth. I always wanted those but I can only imagine how much it cost. I have to be practical and check into the invisalign first. The $100 fee to do so is worth it. If you are not a candidate you get the money back. I do worry though with all the teeth I had out if I will in fact be able to get them. I guess it never hurts to try. I cannot lose anything. Thanks for all of your help.

I had my top 6 front teeth veneered..

No, it wasn't painful at all. I had an implant done at the same time, so I was really expecting some pain afterward. Oddly enough I really didn't have any. I did it all under oral sedation so it was not only painless, but dopey and kinda fun.

They don't last forever (I'm finding out today if I need to have any of them replaced at my dental check up) and they cost a freaking fortune. But my last dentist recommended them as my upper teeth enamel was pretty weak (sodas, being bad, etc) and he said I'd be happy with my smile. Which I have been. But! If I'd known that I had other options -- bonding, etc, which my dentist did NOT bring up to me, I might have chosen differently. Explore your options!!!

As far as the angle of your tooth, they do remove quite a bit of your tooth surface, so they can do a lot of "straightening" when the veneers are placed. But from then on, you will always have to have veneers.

Btw, yes, they can fall off, just like a crown or whatever can become loose and fall off. So if you do get them, treat them well I cut up apples, corn on the cob, things like that. I just do it to be nice to them, not because I think they can't take it.

Good luck!!

Hi everyone! Today I had some impressions and photos taken to see if I am a candidate for invisalign braces. My dentist does not think I am but it is an option I wanted to explore. If I am not I will more than likely try and work up the courage to call an orthodontist. I heard a lot of things about arches today and that the five teeth I had out recently will not help my teeth move with the invisalign. I guess I have to just wait. My husband said he wants a copy of everything once it comes back. I will also go for another opinion at another dentist just to leave my options open. He was talking about some jaw surgery to expand the jaw line. I of course said that is not an option for me. I will live with my teeth as they are before I do that. My teeth are angled in and one sticks out some but I can live with it if I had to. I know there are other people that are worse off than I. I will let you know if I am a candidate. I decided the veneers are not an option for me. To much of my real teeth would have to come off. He said some has to come off for the invisalign but I am sure it is not as much as with a veneer. Veneers are not cheap, have to eventually be replaced and quite frankly having my teeth shaved 2 mm and some more just scares me. My gut is telling me to opt out of the veneers so I am. Thanks for listening. I appreciate it.