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Advanced cosmetic and general dentistry

Six Things You Should Know About Porcelain Veneers before You Get Them

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Photo of dental forceps holding a single porcelain veneers, from the office of accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Szarek of Lowell, MA.

Porcelain veneers are bonded to your teeth

Porcelain veneers can provide a stunning smile makeover, but there are six things you should know about them before making the investment.

1. Great Results Require a Cosmetic Dentist

Porcelain veneers are a cosmetic improvement to your teeth. So the dentist you choose for your smile makeover should be a cosmetic dentist—an artist. Whether you want a super-white celebrity smile or a simple, natural-looking smile that complements your face, you need a cosmetic dentist. Why? Consider the facts:

  • Porcelain doesn’t automatically produce natural-looking results. If you want a smile makeover that looks natural, you need a dentist and ceramist who know how to manipulate porcelain so it has the color, characteristics, and translucency of natural teeth.
  • Bonding techniques are critical to the life of your porcelain veneers. Veneers that are improperly bonded to your natural teeth can slip, loosen, or fall off.
  • The shape and form of your veneers determine whether they complement your lips and other facial features. Only a cosmetic dentist can refine the details.

2. They Are Permanent

Your natural teeth are prepared before you receive porcelain veneers. This involves lightly shaving them to prevent the veneers from looking bulky over your teeth. After your teeth are prepared, it isn’t possible to reverse the process. You will always need veneers or some other form of cosmetic dentistry over your teeth.

3. Don’t Ask for a Specific Brand

  • Dentists become comfortable with various brands of veneers for a variety of reasons.
  • The dentist’s skill level, the results produced, and other factors determine which brands a dentist uses.
  • Avoid asking your dentist for a specific brand. You might choose a brand the dentist isn’t comfortable with, and if you insist on it, the results might not look good.
  • Ask your dentist which brands he or she uses and why. The response can build your confidence in the dentist, instead of in a certain brand. If you select a cosmetic dentist, you can trust you’ll get great results.

4. Try Them On

You won’t have to ask a true cosmetic dentist to let you try on a trial set of your customized veneers. It will be part of the process. But you should know that in order to really see how the finished product—your porcelain veneers—will look and feel, you have to try on temporaries. If your dentist doesn’t offer you the opportunity to try on trial veneers, beware. And be certain to try on the final product before it’s permanently bonded to your teeth.

5. Ask About a Guarantee

A skilled cosmetic dentist can guarantee that you’ll love your new smile with porcelain veneers. Several factors make it possible to guarantee your satisfaction:

  • The dentist’s training, skill, and eye for beauty
  • Your dentist should ask for your feedback and preferences throughout the process of designing and creating the veneers
  • Skilled dentists use a master ceramist to craft the final product

Ask your dentist what he or she does to ensure your smile makeover will be exactly what you want.

6. Don’t Let Cost Alone Make the Decision for You

Porcelain veneers are an investment. So don’t let cost alone determine which dentist you choose. A highly skilled cosmetic dentist who uses quality materials and who is picky about the results will have higher fees than other dentists.

We recommend that you schedule consultations with at least two cosmetic dentists. If you can find an accredited cosmetic dentist in your area, you’ll likely get amazing results. Ask to see before-and-after photos of smile makeovers with porcelain veneers for actual patients of the dentist. You can get the celebrity smile—or the simple, but stunning smile makeover—you’ve always wanted.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.

My porcelain veneer is noticeably too long

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My left top incisor was chipped when I was 27 years old. My dentist did a good job of bonding it and even I couldn’t tell where the chip was. I have to look at an old picture with the chipped tooth to pinpoint exactly where it was broken. Now I’m 49 yrs old. Within the past 2 months I noticed that the bonding was starting to get weak and chip away. I switched dentists last fall because my former dentist moved out of state. My current dentist said that I need a crown not bonding this time. I didn’t agree to a crown after he explained that he would have to grind down my tooth. So his next recommendation was a porcelain veneer. I shouldn’t have agreed to it, but I did. The porcelain veneer is longer than the tooth next to it. I called the office 1 ½ week ago and complained about the way the veneer looks. I saw my dentist early last week and he took a look at it and he said it looks fine. I asked him to see if he could do something about it. He removed the veneer and cleaned it. Then he rebonded it. Now it’s too long AND crooked. So he just made things worse. So removing it and rebonding it implied that maybe the dentist thought he put it on too low so it looked longer that it really is. I think the veneer is just plain too long. I was pretty frank and told my dentist that I hate the veneer. He said he can order another one and I told him I will call the office to let him know what I decide. I don’t trust the process. Should I just leave this dentist and find somebody who knows what they are doing? Thanks. Timothy

Timothy,

Yes, you should leave the dentist and find one who knows what he or she is doing.

Your porcelain veneer needs to be examined to determine the real issue. If your veneer was bonded incorrectly the second time, it might have been incorrectly bonded in the first place. It is also possible that the ceramist who made the veneer didn’t get correct instructions on the size and proportions of the veneer.

We are also concerned why your dentist didn’t think that dental bonding was still an option. Was your dentist uncomfortable with his ability to match the bonding to your tooth? Was there something different about the tooth structure that would prevent dental bonding from correctly restoring it this time?

We suggest that you find an experienced and accredited cosmetic dentist to examine your tooth and porcelain veneer. A dentist who is accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry has proven experience, skill, and training in aesthetic restoration of teeth. He or she will let you know what went wrong, as well as your options for restoring your tooth. You can also consider asking your dentist for a refund or some type of compensation for the expense of having your tooth properly restored.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA accredited cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.

My porcelain veneer looks thick and off center

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I had 16 year old bonding on a front center tooth that my dentist replaced with a porcelain veneer. It’s the one on the left. The bonding covered a chip in my tooth that I had in sports accident when I was 22 years old. The bonding got discolored and it actually chipped very slightly on the inner edge. It wasn’t very noticeable to others but I didn’t want it to get any worse. I asked me dentist about replacing the bonding and she said that too much of the tooth was affected to do bonding again so she recommended a crown. After finding out that my tooth needed to be shaved down to get a crown, I asked for a porcelain veneer.

I spent a lot of time at my dentist’s office because she wanted to make sure the veneer matched my teeth which were whitened 3 months ago. She also let me try on a temporary veneer to make sure it looked good. I was excited about finally getting my tooth fixed so that it looked natural.

3 weeks ago I got the final veneer and my doctor did the temporary paste in. I agreed that it was what I wanted. So she bonded it too my tooth. She and her assistant agreed that my tooth looked great. Then they seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry to get to another patient and my dentist said she would check out my tooth in 2 weeks just to make sure everything is okay.

I got to my car and looked at my tooth in my rearview mirror and it looked thick and off center to me. I did a selfie picture of my smile and sent it to a friend. Without my saying anything she noticed that the tooth looked off center. I didn’t tell her that it was actually a porcelain veneer. I called my dentist’s office on the way home and they told me to schedule another appointment. The response I got was that the tooth must have shifted. I am not comfortable about letting her fix my tooth because I don’t trust my dentist to remove the veneer and put it back on. Why after all of that checking is my veneer crooked? Could my tooth really have shifted? Kayla

Kayla – Your description really sounds like the porcelain veneer was incorrectly positioned when it was being bonded to your tooth. The hurried action after it was bonded and cured seems to indicate that your dentist saw that the veneer wasn’t placed correctly.

It is also concerning that your dentist recommended a crown or a porcelain veneer instead of replacing the dental bonding. Dental bonding is a faster, less invasive, and less expensive option that can produce beautiful results. A skilled cosmetic dentist would recommend dental bonding as the first option for restoring your tooth.

An expert cosmetic dentist might be able to remove your porcelain veneer without it cracking, clean the bonding off the veneer and your tooth, and re-bond the veneer. Otherwise, the veneer will need to be replaced. Your dentist hasn’t made the offer to correct the situation, so it is unlikely that she has the skill required to do it.

Take pictures of your tooth, document your conversations with your dentist, and ask for compensation, depending on whether your porcelain veneer needs to be removed and bonded again, or replaced.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.