Who has dental veneers?

Don't do it. Those fake Chiclets teeth can be spotted a mile a way. They are opaque instead of translucent like real teeth and they look odd under anything with UV light. Honestly I thought people stopped doing veneers back in the 2000s.

Yes you have to wear a night guard for the rest of your life. I have veneers on my two front teeth that I broke as a kid. I don’t wish the process on anyone. And they don’t look natural and they need to be replaced which is awful

I've veneers for over three decades. Not the chicklets one but ones that look real. I had discolored teeth because of some drug that )my mother was prescribed while pregnant; I think the drug was tetracycline. So, I had very happy to have the veneers.

I wear the night guard every night without fail. It's very easy to do. You get used to it fairly quickly. It not head gear like you had with braces but a plastic mouth guard shaped to fit your teeth . You wear it over your top teeth to protect from the grinding.

Since the night guard is protecting me from grinding my teeth, I wake up feeling better. And my jaw feels better. The rare time I forget to wear my night guard serves as a reminder of how much good it is doing.

If you're going to invest in the veneers, the night guard will protect them while you sleep so you don't grind them off.

as for cost, it was about $3000 for just my front two teeth. Most people get their top 6 or 8 teeth done for about $6000

They look fake, no getting around that. Real teeth have different opacity levels near the edges verses the center. Even if they are sculpted really well, there is just something that comes across as not right just like dentures. When you smile they seem dense and flat. At night you can kind of get away with it, but stay out of direct sunlight, it will be quite obvious. Most will assume dentures but wont say anything.

The material composing the veneers tends to chip and stain, but your gums also recede and can turn gray. People can notice the differences between your natural teeth and the veneers or caps, and that’s distracting.

It also costs typically twice as much to replace veneers than it does when they are first applied. Often a special course of periodontal work is required in that process.

For most people, veneers and capped teeth represent expensive, elective misery.

The human brain knows when something is off, it mightend know what exactly but it knows. I once met a guy who's teeth were so white they were blue, if that makes sense.

If not veneers, then what’s the best solution?

Good dental hygiene, R8. Regular brushing and flossing and using a Waterpik daily will fix a lot of your problems.

If your teeth are crooked, braces will work well, and they aren't nearly as expensive as veneers.

This guy got 22 crowns and 6 veneers in Bangkok.

R7

I love the word mightend.

If your teeth aren't broken, get braces and whitening treatments. You can't change your mind after you get veneers, your natural tooth enamel is stripped down to the nerves and you can't go without a protective covering. They also need to be redone every 10 years or so, in 2 - 3 excruciatingly long dental appointments.

There's a second alternative, which is cosmetic veneers. This is a coating they put on top of your teeth and they mold it to give your teeth a uniform size and whiteness.

I had it done in Mexico 4 years ago and they still hold up and look great. Dr. says they should last 8-10 years. They still look great. Cost was $1400? Something like that for 8 top and 8 bottom.

So you don't have to file down your teeth to get them and the bonus is that they protect your natural teeth from further decay.

It's hard to search for it because cosmetic veneers get lumped in with regular veneers, where they replace your teeth. But it's a separate procedure.

Took about 6 hours in a dentist's chair - luckily he had a TV on the ceiling so I could watch movies while he did it. The same procedure costs $5k or $6k in US.

For me, it was a no-brainer. I did chip a bit of the coating (bit into something I shouldn't) last year and I had him re-do it while in Mexico on another trip. Cost like $180 to fix that.

Even with the travel costs, I still was way ahead - got a Mexico vacation out of it plus a new smile in one day. Highly recommend.

My issue is that I am missing enamel and therefore my teeth no longer whiten. They are almost grey.

I used to do laser whitening every year and I loved having white teeth.

Short of veneers, how might I improve my smile? I am still drawn to the idea of veneers and a clean white smile

r13 I will look up cosmetic centers thanks.

Where in Mexico did you have this done? And how did you find a provider with a level of confidence? Also, do you wear night guard for cosmetic veneers?

I suppose Mexico would be easier to get to than Istanbul. Although not going to lie, I was already fantasizing about a visit to a gay hamman and choking on turkish sizemeat.

My teeth are discolored from tetracycline, like R3, and no amount of dental hygiene will change that. But I've never had the money to get veneers. I've just gone through life with gray-brown teeth and no doubt some people have been turned off by it but that's too bad.

[quote]They look fake, no getting around that.

They don't if you have a good dentist and pay the price.

My front teeth were wearing down and chipping as I got older, so I finally got veneers on the front 4 about 8 years ago. My dentist painstakingly matched color and size with my surrounding teeth and even sent back the first veneers to the manufacturer because they didn't match his standards. (But, yeah, we're talking "Beverly Hills" standards.) They are a nice, light ivory color—not blindingly white—and they have very natural-looking edges—not perfectly straight and matchy-matchy. They don't look like chiclets, I don't look like Bugs Bunney, and I am very, very happy with them.

R15 - I got it done in Puerto Vallarta. I looked up the doctor beforehand - he's a really nice guy and had previously worked in the US. The office isn't deluxe by any means - but it's clean and he did a great job. I also got a tooth implant for $600 - would have cost $2000-$3000 in US.

I love vacationing in PV anyway, so it wasn't a hardship.

Sometimes they call it a 'smile design' or 'smile makeover' - I think that removes the regular veneer search results. I think that will narrow your results. I just looked up my doc and it's now $1650 USD. Considering it lasts a considerable amount of time - I feel it is well worth it.

R15 - Sorry - I didn't reply to your question about a night guard. I don't use one. I don't think you have to.

I'm suspicious of the whole night guard upsell that every single dentist suddenly wants you to have - and then charge you $400 for $5 of molded plastic.

Another CLASSIC DL thread...

r18. any chance you’d post the last name of your doc or the clinic or some other identifying information? Understand either way

Watch a video of what they do to your actual teeth, OP, and that will set you off of having veneers at all. I'm as vain as they come, but once I saw what they do and how irreversible it is, I told my cosmetic dentist to just make the best of the teeth I had in my mouth. Like the person further up, I had adult braces and then what used to be called "cosmetic bonding" a/k/a cosmetic veneers. That plus a little bit of shaping and whitening gave me a decent smile.

Also if you have a gayvoice lisp at all veneers will make it much worse, like people with bad dentures.

Just my two-cents: I always preferred imperfect but naturally looking teeth over fake veneers.

I don't have veneers, but I have a mouth full of beautiful crowns. All the agonizing root canals were totally worth it! They are such an improvement over my original teeth.

R21 - well, whenever you post a link here with a recommendation, someone always tears it up and shits all over it, so I was reluctant.

But sure - here's the link. Scroll all the way down on the page to get the real client pics, instead of the stock images.

LIke I said - it's not a fancy office - but you're not paying for expensive rent, lighting, utilities, staff, etc.

Both of my brothers have had extensive dental work done in PV as well, years ago (not the same dentist). Extremely happy with it and cost about 1/3 of what it would in the US.

Just remembered - they're called composite veneers also. So composite veneers or smile design should get you the results.

It's bonding to your teeth - but you still have all of your teeth obviously.

THANK YOU

R27 - you're welcome. Just remember - it really is a cosmetic procedure only. But it changes your whole appearance.

My teeth were discolored and not uniform - I never had braces when I was young.

I wish I had done it a few years earlier when I first looked it up - that's my only regret. My partner at the time was amazed and was envious. They are white, but not blazing white. And because they fit over your teeth, it still looks like your teeth.

Oh, and if you drink a lot of red wine, drink tea, coffee - they CAN get stained over time, but it can usually be buffed right out. Also whitening strips can also help - you won't need them though for a year or two. YMMV.

Also R27 - look up his Google reviews and Yelp reviews - tons and tons of Americans and Canadians have used him with great results.

He also does traditional veneers which obviously cost a lot more. But I think this is a great, somewhat affordable in-between procedure.

Worst case scenario - and I don't think you would need or want to do this - but the bonding can be relatively easily removed if you don't like it. I doubt that will be the case.

Having a bright, even clean smile just does so much - you look healthier, happier, younger even.

All you need is a skilled dentist in the united states who appreciates the fake look the wrong material and color can give you. I've had mine for 28 years and people think I have great teeth. Translucency is the key... there are great materials out there. You'll get what you pay for. Current price is $1,700 per tooth.

[quote]They also need to be redone every 10 years or so, in 2 - 3 excruciatingly long dental appointments.

r3 here. I've had my veneers for 30+ years. Never had to have them redone because I wore the night guard every night.

Yes, a night guard is expensive. But they mold the plastic precisely to fit your mouth. No other person in the world would be able to wear it. Yes, pay the $400 for it. Its worth it. I've had my night guard for 30+ years as well.

Don't go cheap and buy one for $100. Those aren't molded precisely to your mouth and are made of cheaper material that will ultimately break. I have a friend who has gone through five or six of those cheap night guards in the past decade.

FYI: There is absolutely no point in getting the veneers if you don't also get the night guard. You'll grind your teeth in your sleep and the veneers will pop off.

Think of the night guard as an insurance policy to protect your expensive investment in the veneers.

I had veneers on the front eight that were done shortly after 2000 at Harvard’s Dental School. I smoked until then, one tooth was chipped, and for not a lot of money (about $2700 including the night guard) they looked good and worked until 2020. The dentist was a German postdoctoral Fellow and she won an award for them at some dental convention. I was amazed they lasted as long as they did while everything else in my mouth fell apart. It was still cost-effective, more so because they lasted a lot longer than expected.

I spent most of the last four years at Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine to get except the center eight on the lower jaw replaced with crowns on root canals, implants, and a bridge. Mine have been cleaned up to match everything else and everything looks perfect because the gum lines are real. I didn’t want anchorman white but I did get the otherwise “Hollywood smile” for half price: $30,000. This time the dentist was a Kuwaiti postdoctoral Fellow who said my work would cost about $60k at a private dental office in Boston and double that in Beverly Hills, the dental version of Mecca.

I wear the night guard, too. It’s a PITA but you get used to it. I paid for most of the work (dental insurance in retirement is shit. I got about 33% of what the school charges back) so it’s a small price to pay to maintain the investment. And they really do look like a million bucks.

[quote]8 top and 8 bottom.

Sounds like the perfect invitation list for an orgy.

R17 you still missed the key give away with veneers, they are not translucent like real teeth. No getting around that. Your Beverly Hills DR may be good at shaping them, you may feel special that you have the money to splurge on that, but at the end of the day, others can tell your teeth are fake and unnatural if they are being honest.

R34 Oh just stop it.

Few of us are fucking staring at someone's teeth and asking to see them hold still and smile in direct sunlight.

If the shape and color are natural and all the other boxes are checked NO ONE is going to notice that the edges are not "translucent".

I am sure anyone spending 30K on their teeth do in fact start at the details of their own teeth and probably others. You never go in the sunlight and smile? What are you some bridge troll?

R36 Hon, no one is studying your teeth.

Are you kidding? There are no elegant kind. If millionaires can’t get them looking right nobody can.

What are you talking about? Lots of great looking teeth out there. The whole Hollywood smile thing. Cosmetic dentistry has made great advances.

R10 Fuck, this is so bad. OP: if it's not an emergency, please don't. They don't look real which is distracting, cost a fortune, you destroy a healthy tooth and if you are not paranoid about dental hygiene, you get veneer breath.

Who here removes their teeth for oral?

I got them done over twenty years ago by a good dentist who had taken several training courses and they turned out fine. A huge gap between my front teeth was corrected and he made sure that they looked naturally imperfect. Since then a few have had to be replaced due to cracking, but I have never had to wear a guard at night. Overall I am pleased and don’t regret it one bit.

(Should have clarified in the above that all the visible front upper and lower teeth were done.)

Orelle Veneers is my drag name.

A friend has the worst veneers I’ve ever seen. They look like wind up chattery teeth.

I have that plastic coating on my front teeth. When that craps out, think I’m just gonna get some crowns. I won’t be able to swing the super duper deluxe veneer cost and I don’t want to look like a carnival game.

[quote]Lots of great looking teeth out there. The whole Hollywood smile thing. Cosmetic dentistry has made great advances.

You mean like the same people that have tons of bad plastic surgery and big fake boobs? Most of those people look pretty scary in real life, film is like a filter and always toughed up to glamorize the actors. If you don't know that and honestly think people in Hollywood look good with all that you really cant be trusted with regards to taste and what looks natural vs artificial.