Veneers

[Hazey_Jane]

Lily, with veneers you'd be taking a perfectly healthy tooth and turning it into something not healthy by shaving it off. So how are veneers better than removing teeth? Adults usually have 32, I have 24 as my teeth are so ginormous and compacted in my teeny, tiny Alien like mouth/ jaw that when I had braces I had to have so many removed. My teeth were awful because there just wasn't space for them.

If you hate the incisors that much, wouldn't it be better to have them removed? I had mine removed at 12/13 and they were proper vampire like.

[Ella77]

The point with veneers is that once you have them, you can never not have them again. You need to have a lot of money on hand for upkeep. Imagine what else you could do with thousands of pounds.

[Lily]

I have done some googling and what the dentist was talking about is composite veneers which "just" stick onto the tooth rather than ones which need bits shaving off which explains why she didn't mention drilling my teeth down. I'm certainly not having that done.

Luce: a fixed brace would still require teeth being removed, and I'm just not up for that. They're not *that* bad!

Hazey, how did you have your incisors removed? Surely you need them for chewing?

You are all giving me much food for thought. Can I eat that with veneers? Ho ho.

[smalex]

If they're sticking them to your teeth, though, how does that work? are they prone to coming off? do they damage the tooth below? Do they have a shelf life? I'd still be doing a lot of poking before you have something attached to your teeth.

[Shoe]

I recently had my two front teeth built up with composite. They had been worn down and misshapen by my grinding. They basically just painted on some stuff which built my tooth up without having to properly grind down the actual tooth underneath.

ETA: the dentist warned me that because my grinding is so bad they may pop off but she seemed to think they could just put more on if that happened. In my head it's a bit like the sealer stuff they put on kids teeth.

[Disco]

They don't "just" stick to the teeth though, do they? The enamel will have to be acid etched to get a rough surface for the composite to adhere to, as far as I'm aware.

I could show you my teeth and my tiny peg lateral incisors but I don't think you guys would see what I see (horrible stunted teeth or ginormous central incisors).

[Disco]

Luce: a fixed brace would still require teeth being removed, and I'm just not up for that. They're not *that* bad!

If they're not *that* bad, I would suggest they're not that bad then! Personally if they were that bad then I would go down the train track route (or invis thing but I don't know *that* much about it other than colleagues with perfectly nice natural teeth spent thousands on it).

[Shoe]

In all honestly, I don't know, Dics. It didn't feel like she ground them down but I do wonder how it works if they don't?

[Disco]

An acid is applied to the enamel.

[Shoe]

Oops, ignore me then Lily, I didn't know that!

Let's hope one of my front teeth doesn't snap off going forward.

[Lily]

That's a good point, Beatrix. Once all the treatment is completed, you don't need anything else beyond a retainer.

Shoe, your poor ground teeth! Can they help you stop grinding them?

[Kenickie]

Obviously I'm not a psychiatrist so maybe this is overstepping, but I think you think this isn't BDD as there is objectively something 'wrong' so it's not something you're imagining. However, we all have bodies that aren't perfect, including, for the vast majority of us, teeth that aren't the perfectly straight white even ones of Hollywood actors. I think a more healthy response is to think 'yeah, they're not perfect, but it doesn't actually matter, they do their job fine and it's not an important part of me' rather than thinking 'there's an issue, what can I do to get it fixed?' and spending a lot of time and effort investigating 'solutions'. My teeth are uneven and a bit wonky but I honestly don't give them any thought. I also think that if you spend a lot of money on this, it's likely you'd move onto something else.

I think there's far more fun and enjoyable things you could spend your money on. Pay off your debts, have a weekend away etc.

[Shoe]

I'm seeing a specialist at the dental hospital next week, Lily, but so far it doesn't look like it. I just chew straight through the gum shields, even the extra hard ones. There was talk of hypnotherapy at one point but I'm not wholly convinced that will help.

[Disco]

I grind badly too and I highly doubt anything will help (me) but I would be interested to hear what the specialist says Shoe, please. I've just booked an appointment for another night guard as I can't sleep without one without injury.

[Duophonic]

I'm another one that thinks your teeth are fine.

Just to give personal experience. My teeth are bonded and there's two main reasons, yes one reason is purely vanity but the main reason is functional.

The process is that the dentist will colour match and then apply an acid or similar to scuff the surface of the tooth and then painstakingly apply the composite resin.

I opted for it due to the relative non invasioness - no acid was required as my teeth are horribly pitted from severe morning sickness and I needed a solution to effectively protect my teeth in the future.

The cons are - they stain extremely easily and my vice is coffee so they're not as white as they could be, certainly not as white as yours.
To protect them I chose nor to use my front teeth as a biting surface so everything I eat is carefully cut up, no biting into apples or even a sandwich without considering what tooth surface I'm going to use.

I spend a fair amount of time in the US and I work with middle class Americans. I also run with a ladies group who are fortunate enough to be in a position to be at home while their husbands work.

The Hollywood smile is a myth

[Squirrel]

I honestly think that if your (perfectly fine, IMO) teeth are bothering you that much, then having an extraction and braces to straighten the teeth up, sounds much much better than veneers!

I know people who had extraction and braces as teens and they don’t miss the missing teeth iyswim. I’m sure there are situations when veneers help with already damaged teeth, but I absolutely wouldn’t do the prep work that disco describes, to teeth that look as good and healthy as yours to start with.

[Lily]

OK, thanks all. I am glad I posted this as you all given me huge amounts to think about. I remember your posts about your teeth from the other thread Duo; it sounded agonising, you poor sod. I have not done mine any favours with bulimia, but I don't think they are too badly damaged, fortunately.

You're not overstepping, Ken, and I can see what you're saying. But my teeth do get to me. They are quite an important part of me as they are right on my face, kind of like a nose. I used to think I had quite a nice smile but it's that bloody SNAGGLETOOTH I hate. I wonder if the orthodontist could perhaps 'cap' the pointy bit so it doesn't look so, well, pointy.

I have an absolute fear of taking out a perfectly serviceable tooth. But in this case they would push my teeth together, so the gap would be filled in.

I wonder if the first step is to have them whitened (which I definitely want doing) and to see how I feel about them after that.

Shoe, let us know how you get on with the hypnotist; do you (and Dics) know why you're grinding your teeth?

[Shoe]

I grind badly too and I highly doubt anything will help (me) but I would be interested to hear what the specialist says Shoe, please. I've just booked an appointment for another night guard as I can't sleep without one without injury.

I will report back. I don't have high hopes though.

Lils, my grinding seems to be a combination of stress (the main reason) and possibly the medication I am on (citalopram). Nobody is really sure and I am not in a fit state to swap to a different medication at the moment to check if that helps.

[Leap]

I could show you my teeth and my tiny peg lateral incisors but I don't think you guys would see what I see (horrible stunted teeth or ginormous central incisors).

I really feel this. I have one false front tooth that is (marginally) shorter and not matched to the other one after breaking several times (hockey stick to the face when I was 14), gaps left from teenage braces and what look like yellow incisors to me, but I have had people with zero agenda spontaneously tell me I have “lovely teeth” so I know a lot of the above is absolutely my own personal issue. I did also have NHS braces for 2 years as a teenager and they removed 4 molars and even now I have limited space for incoming wisdom teeth. I would absolutely choose tooth removal over veneers, it was the right thing for my mouth and the only reason I have what I think to be gaps are because I didn’t wear the removable retainer as directed once I got my braces off.

Short version: no one looks at your mouth the way thy you do, but if you’re going to make an expensive investment in it to ame yourself feel better then the fundamental changes are better than the quick fix. I really want to say it’s like living as a woman for a year before surgery vs just having it all lopped off in one go Sorry I’m on holiday :wine:

[geek_kitten]

Just to echo what everyone has said already, and add my tuppence worth as someone who had orthodontic treatment in my teens. I had quite severe overcrowding; I had four eye teeth removed and my wisdom teeth out as well and I certainly don't miss the missing teeth at all. It was a generally very positive thing to do for my general dental health, even if it did mean removing healthy teeth.

Basically as leap said - better do the fundamental change, if it's needed (which I don't think it is) than the quicker cosmetic fix!