Let's be honest here. NOBODY likes having their teeth worked on, including dentists. However, whether there is pain, discomfort, sensitivity or nothing depends on a lot of things. Saying that, most dentists can place porcelain veneers extremely comfortably. If your really nervous, you could have oral sedation, taking some pills to really relax you and make the visit fly by, and afterwards you may have no, or little memory of the appointment. Oral sedation is very safe and not expensive.Then, your dentist will also use local anesthetic (Novocain). The local anesthetic will take away any pain that you might otherwise experience during the procedure. However it is "how" your dentist gives you the local anesthetic that is also very important. Topical anesthetics can be used to make "the shot" almost imperceptible. However, the dentist has to use strong topical anesthetic, put it on the exact spot where he is going to give you the local anesthetic, and most importantly "wait", giving the topical anesthetic enough time to really work. He can't just "put it on" and "give the shot".Another important thing that dentists SHOULD DO is give you your local anesthetic VERY SLOWLY. Giving it fast can certainly hurt. Giving it slow will make all the difference in the world.Now, about the drilling. Veneers require some drilling on the teeth, but almost all the time the amount of drilling into the teeth is not as deep as a cavity on a back tooth. And, if your situation is only to treat some discoloration, wear or slight overlapping, your cosmetic dentist might be able to use a "minimal preparation" technique which only requires some slight drilling off the outside enamel, and not into the dentin, or deeper layer of the teeth that has the nerve endings.You ask if veneers hurt when attached, again usually not. You would again get local anesthesia to make your teeth numb, and no drilling of the teeth are necessary when they are bonded into place.However, saying all of that, one might expect some sensitivity or discomfort after the local anesthetic wears off. For that reason many cosmetic dentists will have their patients take Advil every four to six hours for a couple days after the teeth are prepared, and then again after they are bonded into place. A rare 3-5% will experience more post treatment sensitivity, which a stronger pain medication usually takes away very quickly.So, as I started you answer, nobody likes having dentistry done on them, but in this day and age with good technique and genuine caring, your dentist can give you porcelain veneers in a very comfortable way. The end result will be something well worth any temporary discomfort you might possibly encounter.
