7 Dental Veneers Mistakes To Avoid Before Your Smile Makeover

If you think that dental veneers are something new, I'm here to tell you, they've been around for a very, very long time. The first celebrity that got veneers was Shirley Temple. Actress Shirley Temple got veneers back in 1936 when she wanted to have the perfect Hollywood smile. Today it seems like everybody's getting veneers, including some of your favorite celebrities, like Miley Cyrus, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, and Cardi B. And I know firsthand that Cardi B. got dental veneers because I am the celebrity dentist that gave her that million-dollar smile with dental veneers.

This article is so important because 61% of Americans wish they could change something about their teeth. They have insecurities about their teeth and they want to change something, the color of their teeth being number one, followed by crookedness and spacing. And the reason why people are going so crazy over these veneers is that they can give you straight white teeth without braces in less than two weeks. So, I want to help you avoid making some huge mistakes because I am seeing a lot of dental veneers mistakes out there on social media.

What Are Porcelain Veneers?

This is a common question that I get all the time, "What are porcelain veneers?" Well, veneers are thin shells of porcelain that lay right over the front surfaces of your teeth. They are designed to mask any discolorations. If your teeth are too long, we can make them shorter. For short teeth, we could make them longer. If you have gaps, we can close them, and if your teeth are crooked, we can make them look straighter. If you want to know more about porcelain veneers and what they are, please make sure to check out my YouTube video, "What are porcelain veneers?"

Five Mistakes To Avoid With Dental Veneers

1. Buying Snap-on Dental Veneers From Amazon

Now, the first big mistake to avoid is buying snap-on dental veneers from Amazon. Oh yeah, I said Amazon. I actually purchased a pair of Amazon dental veneers, and if you think you're going to fool somebody when you put these on, you've gotta be kidding me. I mean, these are more for Halloween. Trust me when I say, you do not want to walk into your next board meeting or your next date with a pair of veneers from Amazon.

2. Purchasing Veneers From An Unlicensed Dentist

The second big mistake to avoid is getting your dental veneers from anyone other than a licensed dentist who is a porcelain veneer specialist. Now, there are lots of people out there who are pretending to be veneer experts, including, wait for it, a hairstylist! I've seen a hairstylist doing veneers in Atlanta, Georgia. Never ever let anybody who got their dental education off of YouTube University do your porcelain veneers. Let your hairstylist stick to the hair, and let us veneer specialists stick to the veneers.

3. Dental Tourism

So the third mistake to avoid is dental tourism. Now it's okay if you want to go to Mexico for the beach and have some margaritas, that's cool. But when it comes to your teeth, you have to be careful. The problem is if you go to Mexico or Columbia or any of the popular countries that are doing cheap veneers, there are no warranties or regulations to protect you like here in the United States. So if you have a problem with your dental veneers, who's going to fix it? I mean, you'll pay more money redoing them, like flying back over there, and are they going to pay for you to fly back over to Columbia or Mexico? No, I doubt it. Or you're going to try to find somebody here in the United States to fix the problem and good luck because we're kind of like mechanics. We don't like fixing other people's mistakes. So you're going to have a hard time finding someone if you have a failure with your veneers that were purchased from another country, so be careful.

4. Going Too Hollywood

The fourth mistake to avoid is going too Hollywood. I'm talking about those veneers that look too white and too big! These are typically those huge, big veneers that you're seeing a lot of people with on Instagram. The name of the game is to get something that looks natural, and that fits your face. The rule of thumb is, the color of your porcelain veneer should match the color or whiteness of your eyes and the shape of your veneers should match the shape of your face. So for instance, if you have a square face, then your teeth or your veneer should have a little bit of squareness. If your face is round or oval, then we might want to have some roundness at the corners. I actually have a dental chart that you can download and it will show you the different smile shapes and smile styles so that you can choose the proper shape for you, and discuss it with your cosmetic dentist.

5. Getting Really Cheap Veneers

I know that dental veneers are expensive, but if you're not careful they can end up costing a lot more than you expect. They are one of the most important investments in your smile and should be taken care of with the best materials available. When you get really cheap dental veneers, they may start to chip away after a few weeks or months. If this happens, it might cost even more to have them repaired because they have already been ruined with low-quality material. The good news is that there's no need to go through these issues when you work with an experienced cosmetic dentist who knows what he or she is doing!

6. Not Getting a Dental Consultation

A dental consultation is so important. It's like the blueprint. This is where we plan and design your smile. And this is where we discover if there's anything that can ruin your veneers like cavities, gum disease, or if you need a root canal. Any of those things are super important to discover before we do veneers. We need to address any pre-existing dental issues during the consultation and we're going to take X-rays. We are also going to check each and every tooth, and if you do need dental work like a root canal, deep cleaning, gum surgery, or cavities, we need to take care of that first, before we start your veneers. Good oral health always comes first.

7. Not Taking Care Of Your Teeth And Your Gums

Listen, health comes first. We're not going to build this beautiful smile on teeth that are not healthy. So we want to make sure that you're brushing, and that you're flossing. We're going to do a dental checkup and make sure that there are no cavities, and if you do have cavities, we're going to take care of them first. If you have gum disease, we're going to make sure that you get your teeth cleaned. In case you need deep cleaning or surgery, we're going to make sure that your foundation, your bone, gums, and everything that's supporting these beautiful veneers are healthy. And then we'll give you that beautiful smile that you've been waiting for.