Getting dental veneers

MightyMen

Hi guys,

First post on this forum, although I've been an avid reader for a couple of weeks now, so I hope I've put this in the right section and am allowed to make such a thread.

Basically, I'm far from happy about my teeth (to put it very lightly) and have been considering cosmetic surgery for a very long time now. On an abstract scale, my teeth are like 3.5 out of 10 and this has really impacted on my life negatively, contributing to low self-esteem and depression etc. I've now been working for a while and have saved up for a long time as well. My beautiful and amazing girlfriend is also prepared to help me with the cost (Heaven knows what I've done to deserve her) but I'm hoping I won't have to use her help.

I have a few questions to ask, though, and I'd be grateful if anyone could answer any of them:

• Have you had veneers before and what is your experience of them?
• Do veneers feel uncomfortable/unnatural in any way, especially when eating or brushing?
• From the research I've done, I can expect to pay around £500 per tooth? Is this about right or is it too low or too high an estimate?
• Do you know of a highly recommend London dentist who could do this for me?
• Generally, would you recommend them?

The last question seems a bit redundant because I've wanted to get my teeth 'fixed' for a long time now and I've been saving up for it, but I just thought I'd ask anyway. Apologies for so many questions and I'd be really grateful if anyone could help me with any of them.

Many thanks.

absolutebounder

MightyMen wrote: »

Hi guys,

First post on this forum, although I've been an avid reader for a couple of weeks now, so I hope I've put this in the right section and am allowed to make such a thread.

Basically, I'm far from happy about my teeth (to put it very lightly) and have been considering cosmetic surgery for a very long time now. On an abstract scale, my teeth are like 3.5 out of 10 and this has really impacted on my life negatively, contributing to low self-esteem and depression etc. I've now been working for a while and have saved up for a long time as well. My beautiful and amazing girlfriend is also prepared to help me with the cost (Heaven knows what I've done to deserve her) but I'm hoping I won't have to use her help.

I have a few questions to ask, though, and I'd be grateful if anyone could answer any of them:

• Have you had veneers before and what is your experience of them?
• Do veneers feel uncomfortable/unnatural in any way, especially when eating or brushing?
• From the research I've done, I can expect to pay around £500 per tooth? Is this about right or is it too low or too high an estimate?
• Do you know of a highly recommend London dentist who could do this for me?
• Generally, would you recommend them?

The last question seems a bit redundant because I've wanted to get my teeth 'fixed' for a long time now and I've been saving up for it, but I just thought I'd ask anyway. Apologies for so many questions and I'd be really grateful if anyone could help me with any of them.

Many thanks.

I would recommend you get them done somewhere like the ukraine or poland as much cheaper than here

beckyandjack

i would recommend you get them done somewhere sensible like where you live so you can have some follow up treatment if things go wrong!!!!!

TomsMom

MightyMen wrote: »

I have a few questions to ask, though, and I'd be grateful if anyone could answer any of them:

I can't answer all of them but this is what I can say


[*]Have you had veneers before and what is your experience of them?

I have one veneer on a tooth next to the front middle. This was done a few years ago, possibly 6-8 years, privately. At the time it was about £200, probably much more now but I live in Wales so not as expensive as London. The natural tooth is "shaved" (can't think of a better word) so it is thinner than normal to allow the veneer to be fixed in place and level with the other teeth (apologies to the dentists on here, can't describe it any better ). I recently had the veneer come off. My dentist has re-cemented it (at a cost of approx £55) but warned that fixing it a second time may not be as successful as the first time and that it may come off again and we might have to re-think what to do. If they do come off you have an unsightly remnant of tooth showing until it's re-fixed.


[*] Do veneers feel uncomfortable/unnatural in any way, especially when eating or brushing?

No, you don't know they are there, you can't feel them as long as they've been fitted well. If you run your tongue across your teeth you can instantly tell which is the veneered one as it is smooth compared to natural teeth. It can, however, have the look of a false tooth on a denture rather than a completely natural tooth. Very slightly noticeable to someone who is particularly observant if it's just one tooth like mine but probably not noticeable if it's all your teeth.


[*] From the research I've done, I can expect to pay around £500 per tooth? Is this about right or is it too low or too high an estimate?

Don't know current costs, sorry.


[*] Do you know of a highly recommend London dentist who could do this for me?

Don't live in that area, sorry.


[*] Generally, would you recommend them?[/LIST]

Do some research as to how much it will cost, how long they are expected to last in normal circumstances, don't bit anything too hard (thinking humbugs and stuff here as it could crack/break) and find out what alternatives there are.

I'm sure Toothsmith will come along and give you more information from a dentist's perspective.

Raul

Veneers can be phenomenal for your appearance but they are also a life long commitment. They are described as ‘permanent’ but chances are you’ll have to replace them meaning more money in the future.



As the other poster has said they grind your teeth down and this can lead to permanent problems and sensitivity in some unlucky cases. A cosmetic dentist I saw also told me that if you clench your teeth at night that veneers can come loose. If you do and go ahead with veneers and also grind your teeth then you will have to incorporate the price of a custom fitted mouth guard to wear at night to protect what you have paid for.




Many cosmetic dentists will say that they are a member of the ‘British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’ or the American equivalent which sounds prestigious but can misleading. If you read the website closely you can see that membership can be gained by simply paying a joining fee. It seems that only ‘full’ or ‘accredited’ members have undergone further study and training by that organisation.



If you don’t have a personally recommended dentist or trusted surgery in mind then take advantage of the free consultations that many cosmetic dentists in London offer.
Go to as many as you need to and use them to assess the clinic and the dentist. Ask them before hand if you will be able to see a portfolio of work and proof of further study in cosmetic dentistry when you go to see them. If you need a lot of work it will be a major investment and you need the best your money can get.


I needed cosmetic dentistry after a minor accident and was offered veneers but opted for the least invasive work possible. In the future I’ll do try to the same and try to keep as many of my natural teeth as I can. Once they grind it down it is gone for good!




If it is a matter of intact teeth out of line rather than broken or missing gnashers then you might want to look into orthodontics. You can get invisible braces and also train tracks that run on the inside of your teeth these days. Once you get them straight you see about getting them whitened up and they may improve the prospects of your dental health and bank balance over the long term. The down side is the long time scale and veneers have a major advantage as they are in effect ‘instant orthodontics’ giving you a bright white smile a lot quicker.



I’m not a dental professional but I realise that it can be a daunting decision. Cosmetic dentistry can be life changing and every element has pros and cons as much as every individual has different wishes and wants different outcomes.


I’m sure you’ve already put a lot of thought into this and sorry if I’ve told you a lot you already know but I hope this helps.
Best of luck with what you choose to do.

MightyMen

Wow, that was a lot of great help, folks. Thanks a lot. I'm looking forward to the hour this "Toothsmith" decides to grace my thread. It seems as if he can't help me, no-one can Having said that, you've all helped a lot and given me a lot to think about.

For the exact reason that Beckyandjack pointed out, I don't want to have any treatment abroad, but thank you nonetheless Absolutebounder.

Tomsmom & Raul: Thank you for the helpful and in depth responses Like I said in my first post, it is something that I have thought about a lot and something I've wanted to do for a while. If they do last 5-10 years, which seems to be the general consesus, then I'm content that I'll be getting my money's worth. It is a lot of money but I now have a well paid job and I've been saving it up for it and it would make me genuinely a lot happier, so I can't think of any reason not to get them. I also don't drive, smoke, drink/go out excessively and thus have saved a lot of money that way. Yes, I am trying to justify this spending to myself now! :$

If the veneer comes off, would the dentist repair it for free or would I have to pay? Also, how likely is it to come off? And is it horrific to look at in the time between it coming off and getting repaired? Finally, if a particular tooth becomes really bad after, say, 15 years, then is a crown possible or does having veneers eradicate the possibility of having a crown later in life?

Sorry for the continued barrage of questions.

Toothsmith

I'm away on a course today, so I'll pop in this evening!

tirednewdad

As toothsmiths on a course- you'll have to make to with me instead.

Veneers do have good results and many patients are very happy with the results, but there are also other alternatives which your dentist (when you find one) can advise you on.
As explained above a heathy tooth needs to be filed in order to place a veneer, perhaps the same results could be attained with braces and bleaching- far less distructive on your teeth.

If you are still keen after the consultation appointment to have your teeth veneered then you have to be aware of all of the bad bits aswell as the good bits of having beautifull teeth.

In some cases, in order to get the 'straighter' look a crown might be required instead of a veneer. This would involve removing more healthy tooth tissue.
Veneers feel flatter and smoother than normal teeth on the front, but it is quite a pleasant feeling. Depending on how bad the teeth are out of alignment, the veneer might need to be bulkier. You will initailly feel this but it will go after a few days/weeks.

There are failures with veneers like anything else. The glue might not work as well and the veneer might need to be recemented or replaced over time. This might mean that you could need the work replacing every 10-20 years.

The costs seems about correct- who knows you might even get some change back.

The most important thing that i will advise you on is not to assume that by having the veneers, your life and confidence will change. You have to be realistic with what can be achieved by the veneers and communicating with the dentist of the final outcome that you want is very important.

Good luck with you decisions and let me know what you decide.

tirednewdad

Just because you have had a veneer on a tooth is does not stop you from having a crown at a leter date.
Every dentist would have thier own garrentee policy. For me it is 3 years, but that will vary between dentists. Although reading this you might think veneers come off all of the time, but it doesn't happen in real life that often.

SandC

Well after years of hating my front teeth I had veneers on my two earlier this year.

Since my old dentist retired and a new one took over his practice I think he's been dying to get his hands on them. Basically they were wonky, bent inwards, I had had a filling on one and the enamel was wearing off in patches. Abysmal basically. He did offer to renew the filling and 'clean them up' but that would have cost quite a bit anyway.

I was pleasantly surprised that the cost was going to be £325 per tooth. Because this was cosmetic work it was private work and not NHS, but I had heard more figures of around £1000 per tooth than anything else so this sounded good. Maybe others will recommend that you go to a specific cosmetic dental practice but for me, I was happy for him to do this for me. Maybe because he is young and therefore whilst not fresh from training, well up to date with procedures (not saying older people aren't!).

Anyway, it's the best £650 I ever spent. It was quite uncomfortable while he was grinding down my original teeth. I didn't actually see them so where they felt like two pegs left in they might not have been that bad! I had to wear a temporary thing for a couple of weeks which wasn't too bad but was careful in what I ate and drank. he made it look as good as he good.

When I had that taken off for the veneers to be put in, holy crap were they sensitive!!!! They had to be thoroughly cleaned off I guess but geez, that smarted!

My teeth are now wonderful. They were so awful before that nobody can believe I only had those two front ones done. They detracted from my other teeth which were actually okay. I had got to the stage where I had taught myself to smile with my mouth closed and didn't laugh as much as I should have.

They were sensitive and a bit achey for around 2 days only. I just took some ibuprofen the first night and didn't need them after that.

I am quite careful with what I eat, but they feel real enough. I think you just automatically switch to cautious mode when you've had veneers on. I wouldn't, for example, use those front teeth to tear into a crusty baguette but rather have learnt to use the teeth next to it for things like that.

They have been on problem whatsoever. The only thing is that even he realises how competitive his prices are but he merely considers it to be fair for the work he is doing. I am not complaining!

They are not porcelain veneers but something else, that is probably part of the reason they cost less. He said pretty much permanent but I was thinking myself that surely they would need replacing after 10/15 years?? We shall wait and see!

Go and have a proper chat about it with your dentist, see what he recommends.

SandC

They have boosted my confidence massively. Even if people never noticed them before what mattered was what I felt. A few have commented on how great they are. I never wanted anyone to suddenly go 'oh my god, Sand's had new teeth'. So they are subtle enough but have done wonders for me.

I now feel happy to smile normally and didn't realise quite how reserved I had become over it.

I think a lot of it is down to if you have bad looking teeth there is a presumption that is because you didn't look after them. Now whilst you may well know this isn't the case, that's what you feel people are thinking. My brother was blessed with straight and strong teeth, I was not. Now I've finally done something about it I wish I had done it sooner!