“Veneers - One of the Worst Decisions I've Made!”

Regarding bonding: I would not recommend having that done over veneers! I had it done on one front tooth to make it look more even with the other one and because one inside corner was not filled in nicely.

A line discoloration has developed between my tooth and where the composite meet. Now it looks like my tooth was internally broken.

I now work for an awesome dental lab that has amazing cosmetic work come out of it and would definitely recommend veneers still. Veneers are much better than they used to be and they do not have to remove hardly any of your tooth and sometimes none. It is all in the lab doing the work and the type of veneers that are used.

The owner of the lab I worked for developed, with a cosmetic dentist, the thinnest veneer that is made right now so the teeth do not come out looking like chicklets (pieces of gum). ; )

In this photo these teeth look amazing! Are these the veneers that are causing the problem?

It sounds like the problem was due to the dentist and maybe the lab used, and not the product itself - porcelain veneers. I would not recommend bonding over porcelain veneers based on my personal experience with both. I had my teeth bonded before I got porcelain veneers. The difference is night and day. With the bonding, my teeth were thicker, like pegs, because the dentist didn't remove much tooth structure. It was difficult to bite into a sandwich or a piece of pizza. The bonded teeth certainly looked better than my own tetracycline-stained teeth, but in comparison to porcelain veneers, they were not attractive. Porcelain veneers are lustrous, translucent and life-like. They look just like natural teeth. I don't think bonding, even though the bonding materials have advanced, can mimic the appearance of natural teeth like porcelain veneers can.

Based on my knowledge and experience when looking for an excellent cosmetic dentists, there's one the the little secret most dentists won't tell you! Any general dentist can call him or herself a cosmetic dentist, regardless of whether or not he or she has had advanced, post-graduate training in cosmetic dentistry. This is because there's no specialty defined for cosmetic dentistry. When searching for a cosmetic dentist, look for someone with a great reputation as a cosmetic dentist (and I would bet that along with that - he or she uses a great lab), who has lots of experience and happy patients, and advanced training in cosmetic dentistry (e.g. LVI in the U.S.) Also, don't make your choice based on price. The cheapest isn't always the best. The old adage, you get what you pay for, can apply.

Well, I'm another vote for bonding. I had a really nice bonding job that lasted for 15+ years. I had moved to a new city when it was time to redo it and the new dentist was crap. She bonded over the old bonding. I didn't realize you couldn't do that and apparantly, neither did she. So, it quickly began peeling off. I went to a dentist who was billed as a cosmetic dentist and she removed all the bonding, new and old, and did some bleaching on my tetracycline stains. She talked me into Lumineers which was a big mistake. That has been a 5 year nightmare that I won't go into here. I've got so many that are cracked and stained. I'm going to get them removed and, hopefully, have found the right dentist to do bonding this time. It's less invasive and way less expensive. My teeth never looked bulky with the bonding, not the first time around when it was done right. They didn't look fake, either. My original dentist had a light hand, I think. I've done a lot of research this time and think I've found a dentist (an older one) who is still good at bonding.

I agree with making sure the dentist you use has special training and certification in the area of cosmetic dentistry. Everyone wants to jump on board and call themselves cosmetic dentists, when in fact they are experimenting on you. I have found out the hard way, and it also hurt my wallet. But what is worse is the horrible way my teeth turned out. But to the guy in this post, your teeth are gorgeous. I think you are being too critcal. I will trade with you.

I think you have a nice looking smile.

I have sjorgrens syndrome, which left my teeth brown and revolting. My dentist suggested veneers- I had eight across the top. What a nightmare! they broke, came off constantly and then developed bacteria under neath them, leaving them looking black. I wish I had never had them done.My dentist KNEW I had sjorgrens. I want them all taken off. What do you advise. please?thank-you. Ann U.K

For what it's worth, I think your teeth look great! I saw the photo on the main reviews page and didn't even realize you'd said this was "not worth it" until I read the whole thing. 

That being said, I can appreciate your frustration with the situation. But you did come out of it with a perfect smile in my opinion :)

Thank-you girls for taking the time to respond. I am very gratefulfor your help.
Best wishes,
Ann