The Pros and Cons of Lumineers, After the Fact
My experience with Lumineers has been a mixed...
My experience with Lumineers has been a mixed experience. I like my dentist very much, and he followed the directions from Lumineers exactly. That didn't always work. For instance he had to order a special diamond saw to separate my teeth from being uni-tooth when he cemented them. One of them didn't fit right, and he asked me if I wanted a new one made. I chose not to , but to wait see how this one worked, and from the stories I had hear, if this one fell off or not.
So far it has not. It sticks out a little bit but not annoyingly so or conspicuously so. I was sick of dental work, and felt If and when it falls off, since my dentist has already ordered a replacement, I would deal with it down the line.
For anyone considering getting Lumineers, this would be my advice:
1) Don't do two many at once. Do maybe two or three at once. They are not like “contact lenses for your teeth by any method of description—that is just straight up a lie.
2) So, you should go in to it understanding that since, they are NOT the thickness of "'a contact lens" your teeth will be thicker. They also are not flat—they wrap around the bottom of your tooth and make your tooth thicker on the biting surface as well. This makes it difficult to bite an apple or something like that. It also makes the space between your front and back teeth thicker.( ie your front teeth will be more prominent.)
3) If your Lumineers are significantly whiter. They will look more prominent as well. This has pros and cons. More “toothy" looking, but good-looking teeth.
4) Once they are in. look and see if they look how you want. If not , mess around on the computer and shape then. Then show this to your dentist. My dentist shortened and thinned my front teeth so they didn't hit my lip. this made a big difference. Make sure your dentist is committed to your happiness with the Lumineers. My dentist was/is wonderful like that.
5) Don't expect them to look as opaque as your natural teeth, they are more solid looking, so they don’t look just like your own teeth—but then you probably aren’t that fond of how your own teeth look if you are considering this .
6) If you are doing it mainly for whitening, BY ALL MEANS--try all the whitening procedures first. If they don't work, well then maybe this is for you.
?7) I don't LOVE the way mine look, but when I see pictures of myself before, the yellow and misshapen parts of my teeth did make me look older. (I am already older than all the check here choices being in my 60s)
?8) Remember to really work hard to find a dentist committed to making sure that he or she will adjust the Lumineers, as long as necessary until you are okay with them--no matter how long that takes,?
?9) Find out all you can and BE Aware: There is more pain and more chemical stuff involved than they indicate. Not killer pain, but you may need to be numbed for some of it. Be aware it isn’t two visits. It takes longer than they say if you are getting multiple teeth done. Your new teeth will be more bulky and they will need to be tweaked. This is common sense. Teeth are not as thin as a contact lens to begin with and You will need to get used to them being about double.
On the plus side, my teeth are much whiter (one of my kids loves them and wishes she had them-she is an entertainer) they are shaped better now (finally) and I have gotten used to eating and speaking with them.
They make me look different, more "toothy" which is good and bad. My teeth are more prominent, but at least they are nice looking teeth now.
So, I guess the most important thing is to make sure you know what you are getting into, and decide if this procedure will give you what you want or not.
It is expensive and despite what they say, there really is no going back , (no matter what they claim) because they do shorten your natural teeth. Unless your teeth are too short to begin with , they have to because if they don't (as was mentioned by another poster) your new teeth because of the bottom wrap of the Lumineers , are too long and may hit your lip.
10) I probably would not do it again, if I had it to do over, but now that it is done, I can see up-sides to it. They have been holding up very well and I now notice how stained the teeth are of most people in their 60s. They have no vertical lines like they were developing, and I am hoping for the best.
They are easy to care for, I don’t wear the night guard because it bothers my jaw, and have not noticed any wear from not wearing it.
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Agreed, that is something you should have been warned about. Not being able to bite into something is a pretty big deal. I'm glad you have learned to work around it though.
I'm glad your jaw doesn't go out of joint if you don't wear the night guard, but I'm guessing you probably grind your teeth at night like I do, or something along those lines, and that is why the night guard was suggested in the first place. Have you had any problems from not wearning it?
opaque looks the whitest. Since you before teeth where very yellow you would had to have a opaque lumineer or the color would bleed through. There still could be some translucent effect if you dentist used blot out. My patients find no difference in the lumineers I put in. Don't forget lumineers are reversible. They can be removed and your teeth can be brought back as if nothing happened sin no preparation was done.
how is it possible to reverse lumineers? my dentist ground down my teeth, so that the lumineers would adhere and so that the teeth would be the same size as before.
Here are a couple of Q&A's that might interest you:
Are Lumineers the Best Dental Veneers?
Hope this info helps you some.
If you look at the woman at the top of the page you will see that her teeth are not rounded. They are thicker, They are not shaped like a contact lens. They have a bottom part that is like a little cup that the bottom of the tooth sits in. It is like the shape of a fish hook--but thinner. They are the same shape as my teeth. There is only so much that they can take off on the bottom . Your teeth on the bottom are not your teeth. A contact lens sits on your eye , it doesn't hook under your eye. They never told me that.
They are thick enough that the bottom teeth hit the backs of my top teeth. So what is that?
What did I say that was inaccurate? They come in predetermined colors and bases that can be matched, so how can you say they all have to be done all at once? They do grind your teeth down some, or it would be much thicker than already bulky. My teeth were very yellow. Lumineers claims to be a good remedy for that, they don't tell you how thick they are.
I have had them for a pretty long time now. One still needs to be replaced as it is still hitting my top lip. I am used to them more now and have learned to eat "around them", but it isn't like eating was before. They are thicker.
I don't believe that mine could be removed, as my teeth had to be made shorter to accomodate the bottom lip of the lumineer. I would have short, scraped , and roughed up teeth and I can't afford to have other veneers now. So I live with it. I also am really questioning the toxicity of the ground up stuff.
They put in those dams but you still end up breathing in and swallowing it. I regret it. If I had to do it again I would live with the yellow. Plus, they are starting to yellow now anyway. I drink one coffee per day and brush and floss right after. They are still getting darker. They are square and bulky but I don't see how they could be ground down more.
Absolutely fantastic review! Thank you for contributing such great information to the community. It is really helpful that you list the pros & cons in such a balanced way, especially for saying you are not thrilled with the outcome.
When you were gathering information and deciding whether or not to get Lumineers did you know at that time you probably wouldn't be able to bite into an apple, or was that something you realized after you had them put on?
Thanks for your help Megan... Regards, Bill
It is not a quick process and it isn't really all that reversible, because unless you want to look like a horse, your dentist does actually have to grind your teeth--this is common sense Anon, other posters say this as well. Let's be honest. If your teeth have to fit into a little cup thing on the bottom and you don't want your dentist to puncture this, they do have to thin and shorten your own teeth or they would be longer. And on teeth in your mouth? A little bit feels like a lot and looks like a lot. It is only common sense to get it that you can't tell someone (as anon 4567 told me) that the lumineers need to be rounded and shaped and have your teeth be under and within the v cup on the bottom and not have them LOOK and feel bigger UNLESS they grind your own teeth first.
This being said, my teeth were very yellow my whole life and I was sick of it. I wanted whiter teeth and NOTHING else worked for me, not zoom, not gels, not strips, NOTHING. So, I did it. I kind of regret it but when I see people with teeth the color that mine used to be, I kind of get over it. They are not perfect. But they make me more confident that my teeth are not making me look yellowed and old. They may look sort of fake, and be something you have to get used to, but when you see people in their 60s very few don't have natural teeth that are not kind of yellow-at least in cultures that eat and drink like westerners do. The Lumineers are yellowing a little, but nothing like a normal mid-60 year old's teeth. So I am okay with it.
Hi Bill,
If I am understanding correctly, you are looking for the best whitening method. Unfortunately there really isn't an easy answer for that, as it comes down to personal preference, what a person feels is tolerable (ie the possible zingers of Zoom or the weeks of at home trays/strips), etc.
One thing I did notice is you said you were looking for something that "is permanent". Unfortunately no teeth whitening is permanent. Your teeth will pick up stain again & maintenance touch-ups would be needed to keep them white.
Here is some info you might find helpful:
Longevity of Teeth Whitening Treatment Results?
What's the Best Teeth Whitening Treatment?
What is the Best Professional Teeth Whitening?
How to Get Longer-Lasting Teeth Whitening Results?
Tips to maintain teeth whitening results?