Veneers

[Lily]

I have decided to go down this route rather than having Invisalign as it involves removing teeth and was hugely complicated to achieve what can be done with veneers: much safer, much cheaper and significantly less hassle! Has anyone else got them? I thought they were only for old people.

[Disco]

I would absolutely not go down the veneer route! You have perfectly good and nice teeth and veneers are so invasive: with the millimetres of shaved off enamel your teeth will never look the same again. If you grind your teeth they can come off and need re-cementing on.

[Ella77]

Yes, agreed! They file your teeth down underneath. Horrid.

[Lily]

They've not mentioned shaving off my teeth, just sticking something over the top.

It's to bulk out the two which are retreating at the front creating a fang effect. They've got worse over the years and I find myself tucking my front lip over the right one in particular when I smile. They're not horrendous, but they could be a lot better and it's getting to me a lot. (It isn't a BDD thing) I don't (fortunately) grind my teeth.

The alternative with Invisalign was taking out one of the teeth at the front and pushing the others forward. I could also wind up with 'black triangles' between them as my teeth are a funny shape and then they'd have to fill in the black triangles. It all sounded horrendous.

[Disco]

I suggest you read up on the prep required for veneering teeth and the pros and cons. A veneer will not stick to your teeth as is.

They're not horrendous at all, no.

[smalex]

They're really not!

A friend of mine had veneers, because her teeth were abysmal (SO much worse than yours) and they did indeed 'file' her real teeth down (and for a short time I think she had to go around like that, I don't think it was done in one session). Her teeth now are...better... but it's not really a radical improvement, if I'm being quite honest. It cost a fortune and was quite unpleasant to live through.

[Disco]

It's also not necessarily over at that stage, Smal, as the teeth might be prone to hot and cold sensitivity; the veneers might shear off at the bite of an apple but Lily sounds like she really wants it, with each edit of post, so at least do some proper research first.

[Ella77]

My ex had them done, and one just popped off randomly one day (leaving him with a really grim, small, grey front tooth on show), and it was mad money to get it fixed. Nearly £1000, I think it was. And that was about 15 years ago.

[Mountain Goat]

Don't they need replacing every ten -15 years or so even if they don't pop off? It's a lifetime recurring cost I think? At least according to a vague acquaintance who was grumbling about it.

[Lily]

Sorry for editing the post, it took a while to upload the photo.



Maybe they will just look better if I get them whitened.

[sally maclennane]

I honestly think your teeth look fine, everyone has those "fangs" to some extent or another dont they? Is that not what incisors are?

[indigo]

The thought of having those little pegs on show if one pops off is horrendous. What would happen if you couldn't afford to get it/them replaced? I honestly don't think it's something you need to do, Lils, but as Disco said - if you do decide to - please do lots of research beforehand.

[Luce]

Why do you need them to be 'perfect' though, Lily? I know very little about BDD so will bow down to your wisdom on this but how do you know this isn't a BDD thing? I get that we all like to do things that make us feel we look better but veneers are incredibly invasive and expensive and seem completely unnecessary.

I'd have thought a complicated invisalign would at least be much healthier. Or would good old fashioned train tracks be a better option if you can't get it out of your head that they need 'fixing'?

[Hazey_Jane]

Luce is speaking my branes- my first thought on reading that was your BDD. They are absolutely fine as they are.

[Squirrel]

I would absolutely not go down the veneer route! You have perfectly good and nice teeth and veneers are so invasive: with the millimetres of shaved off enamel your teeth will never look the same again. If you grind your teeth they can come off and need re-cementing on.

Gosh yes, Mad Colleague had her veneers pop off and it was horrible, and your teeth are absolutely fine anyway. Please don’t!

I also agree with everything Luce says.

[Lily]

Invisalign involves removing a perfectly healthy tooth which I wasn't keen on at all, and pushing the others forward to fill the gap. The orthodontist emphasised it is not a small undertaking. If I didn't have to have teeth removed, I'd go for it, but I balk at that. It also makes a lot of changes which don't really need making in order to get the result I want. The veneers in this case would basically bring the two teeth in line with the fangs so they don't stick out so much. I expect to have incisors, but they are becoming more and more pronounced and I HATE THEM.

I will ask them about how much they'll shave off, as I'm not having that done! Maybe if they're just whitened I will feel better about the stupid things. She did say that quite a few people have the whitening done and then think, "That'll do, Pig."

[smalex]

Veneers would be just as invasive as having a tooth removed, though. And by the sounds of it, more potential on going hassle from it?

They really, honestly, don't look as bad as you think they do. They're not even close to what I'd think of as 'bad' teeth. And of course when you look at them 2inches from a mirror with your lips pulled back, they look more exaggerated, but I'd put considerable money on no one having noticed them at all during normal contact/when you chat etc.

[Shoe]

S has a veneer on one of is front teeth, because the original tooth got broken. The colour match is not great and he's really paranoid about it, also it's popped off more than once leaving him with a horrid looking tooth underneath and a gap and it's not cheap to get fixed.

[Luce]

So traditional normal braces are not an option then? Or a composite that would be much less invasive?

Otherwise, it looks like you're only options are to ruin your healthy teeth for a cosmetic appearance change so I think you need to make sure that is what you want.

[Lola]

This idea of having perfectly straight bright white teeth is just another pressure from society to look a certain way & make us feel like shit. Humans come in all shapes & sizes & we are all different. I honestly think your teeth look fine. If you get them “fixed” what will be the next thing you’re not happy with? I would try to work on your self esteem instead & that will make you much happier in the long run.