Tempted to get veneers, but terrified by its irreversibility. Please help! (photos attached)

[athena1]

I'm a 36 year old female. I went to a cosmetic dentist to get a crown replacement because I'm going to get a root canal there, and somehow got almost convinced to get veneers for at least the four front teeth (well, one of those teeth is the crown, so three). My front teeth are a bit chipped from the edge as you can see in the attachments, but my husband says you can't tell a lot and it doesn't bother me much. Not enough to ever consider shaving three good teeth for it. I had anxiety for a few days, wondering if I should, or should not. Watched a ton of videos, both for and against, and I was still nowhere closer to deciding what is best for me. I think I decided against it. I don't think I have the emotional capacity to go through the period when my teeth are shaved down and I have to wear temporaries, and then the period when the veneers actually go on and I have to consider there is no going back. The white, winning smile is so tempting which is why I made my appointment for the bleaching too, which they say has to happen a month before the veneers, but I'm not even sure about that anymore. I might just do the bleaching, but I'll have to go through another agonizing period of pros and cons for that one too. Sigh.

If anyone here can offer their insight for or against, I would greatly appreciate it. I haven't completely decided yet or told them anything, so nothing is official yet. What scares me is the irreversibility of it and the after care. I drink a lot of coffee and the occasional wine. I do brush three times a day and floss every night. But I also eat a lot of acidic foods which are cause erosion of my teeth (hence why I have that microscopic chip on one of the front teeth). Also, my teeth don't bother me terribly. I understand that yellow is a natural tooth color and that white is only a Hollywood craze. However, it DOES look very pretty, as unnatural as it is. And I also worry about having to go back to replace them in my 40s and then again in my 50s. Or in my 50s and then again in my 70s if all goes well. That's still a lot. What if by then I have no desire for that anymore, let it go and I'm left with tiny stubs for teeth? That's if they don't die, which I read can happen. All to look good a couple of decades more? Please give me your insight, I am open to EVERYTHING as I feel very lost. I have attached photos of my teeth, maybe judging their state will give you a better idea.

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

I personally wouldn't as Once you've had them done, there's no going back. Seems too drastic to me. Also I have a massive phobia so there's no way I could put myself through something that wasn't essential.

 

[JaySee19]

The irreversibility would not be my problem, the fact that they don’t last for ever and you have to replace them regularly would worry me. Every time they get replaced something would have to be done to an already damaged tooth. I would be scared that they would need extracting at some point. OK, that’s hopefully a long way down the line, but I‘m thinking of my 70 year old self here, and I am not bothered about yellow or slightly chipped teeth. I just want them healthy and fully functional!

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi. I think it is very important to diagnose why the front teeth got chipped, otherwise the veneers might not last for long.
my impression is that just adding composite (white) fillings to make the edges of the front incisors rounder, will improve the esthetics without damaging the teeth. I do this procedure without any anesthesia because it is really superficial. The downside is that the composite is even less strong than veneer but if it chips off, the tooth will return to its current shape.
regardless, on one of the pictures you sent it seems that the left front tooth is a bit darker (maybe it’s the angle of the light reflection). Is that the tooth with the root canal treatment? If so, and if it is a bit grayer, before placing any crown (if there is any need for a crown) it first needs internal bleaching (aka “walking bleaching”) to get rid of the gray shade.

 

[athena1]

Hi. I think it is very important to diagnose why the front teeth got chipped, otherwise the veneers might not last for long.
my impression is that just adding composite (white) fillings to make the edges of the front incisors rounder, will improve the esthetics without damaging the teeth. I do this procedure without any anesthesia because it is really superficial. The downside is that the composite is even less strong than veneer but if it chips off, the tooth will return to its current shape.
regardless, on one of the pictures you sent it seems that the left front tooth is a bit darker (maybe it’s the angle of the light reflection). Is that the tooth with the root canal treatment? If so, and if it is a bit grayer, before placing any crown (if there is any need for a crown) it first needs internal bleaching (aka “walking bleaching”) to get rid of the gray shade.

Hi! So I think what it is, is that I used to have bulimia when I was younger. The acid caused this most likely, but they think I grind my teeth at night because I cannot bring myself to tell them the real cause. I don't do it anymore, but I did read that they're resistant to acid.

Thank you so much for telling me about the composite fillings. I talked to him about it and he says he can do it but that he doesn't recommend it because they will fall soon. I also did my research and it looks like they can stain and you have to be way more careful than with veneers. I'm confused again, haha.

The grayish tooth you see is the one next to the crown covering a root canal. That's the root canal I will have redone soon, and will need a crown for.

 

[athena1]

The irreversibility would not be my problem, the fact that they don’t last for ever and you have to replace them regularly would worry me. Every time they get replaced something would have to be done to an already damaged tooth. I would be scared that they would need extracting at some point. OK, that’s hopefully a long way down the line, but I‘m thinking of my 70 year old self here, and I am not bothered about yellow or slightly chipped teeth. I just want them healthy and fully functional!

I agree! I kind of don't mind the chipped tooth but now my head has been turned by potential nice teeth. I talked to the dentist today, he said he is very conservative in dentistry and would shave off only a bit of the tooth (not a lot as many dentists do). I don't know if I feel better by that thought of any shaving at all. My mom thinks I should do it. She revealed to me that actually all her teeth are shaved because she had bad teeth and needed crowns on all of them. I had no idea!

 

[MountainMama]

I had a chipped front upper tooth when I was 9. I had a composite filling buildup on the tooth done. It lasted me for more than fifteen years before I had it redone for cosmetic reasons. It had a bit of staining. It then lasted for even longer. I never had any issues with it breaking and I wasn’t eating any differently on it. In fact, the filling wasn’t the issue...I ended up losing the tooth because the chip I got as a kid damaged the nerve over time.

 

[charlottep]

Look into bonding...you'd be surprised what they can do these days. My veneers were the biggest regret of my life...it's expensive, they often fall off etc and I required multiple root canals because the prep work is way more invasive than they let on. Please don't do it.

 

[TheWolfess]

I was also recommended veneers for at least two, maybe four front teeth. I don't think I'm going to do it. For now the dentist used composite filling to fix the shape of my two front teeth but he said that in a while it's best to do veneers. I don't like the idea as I don't seek the Hollywood smile, I just want my teeth to be hole-free. Also, I reckon if they ever chip or get broken a lot, or get severely stained, I can always get veneers then and it doesn't work the other way around.
Anyway, if I were you I would wait until there's really a medical reason to get veneers nor just for the sake of aesthetics.

 

[champ]

My vote is no. The longer you safely can leave your teeth alone, the better - especially when they are otherwise healthy. I do totally understand wanting a "better" smile, but there are no guarantees how it will go or if it will cause future problems that make you wish you had left things alone. If it helps, remember "Hollywood smiles" are often fake. Probably no one looks at our teeth as much or as closely as we do. As for the veneer videos, they always seem to be in a certain kind of lighting - so who knows how they look in other lights? I think right now we're all obsessed with our teeth because everyone we see on TV and on streaming services has perfect teeth (many from veneers and crowns) and we've mostly all been home for a year, just looking mostly at fictional people, not real ones. My teeth obsession has definitely gotten worse over the past year, and I'm hoping it will let up when things go back to somewhat normal. And we're also constantly bombarded with "teeth" stuff. So my verdict is - don't mess with healthy teeth unless it's something reversible, like composite or bonding. Anyway, I like this article about Hollywood teeth: https://www.thehairpin.com/2016/09/...little-real-teeth-under-their-big-fake-teeth/