Chapter 4

Welcome to the fourth part of our learning guide on veneers. We have learned about veneers, the veneers procedure, and the types of veneers. Now you may be curious about the possible veneers side effects, right? Well, you’re in the right place.

When discussing veneers side effects it’s important to understand every procedure has some side effects and veneers are not an exception. Yes, they give you bright, healthy-looking teeth. They’re just a few and are easily avoided and cured. But it’s important for the patient interested in veneers to know them before getting the procedure.

At the end of this article, you will know everything you need to know about the risks of veneers and how to handle them. More importantly, you will learn to recognize them and know when to ask for your doctor’s opinion.

What are the most common veneers side effects?

Like any dental procedure veneers might have side effects as well. In this part of the article, we will tell you about the leading veneers side effects so that you are aware of them. Since they are a possibility and should be explained and investigated.

• Problems with color matching
• Tooth sensitivity 
• Gum tissue inflammation
• Tooth trauma and pulp decay
• Possible tooth decay
• Bad veneer application
• Allergic reaction to anesthesia

Now let’s go through each one to know more and how to resolve them.

Problems with color matching

In some cases, there’s the possibility of the veneers not matching perfectly and completely to the teeth adjacent to them. You may have dark teeth compared to the veneers. Maybe the adjacent teeth are discolored. In other cases, dental facets are stained or discolored around the edges.

This discoloration is caused by excess moisture during the sealing of the veneers. It’s usually caused by an inexperienced hand. Such irregularities in color are very rare and easily avoidable by an expert doctor. You can read our article on what happens when you get veneers that don’t match your teeth in color or shape to learn more about how these problems can be fixed.

Tooth Sensitivity 

The removal of the enamel in this type of cosmetic dentistry procedure may cause some tooth sensitivity. The enamel is the strongest material in our body and protects the teeth from external agents and possible sensitivity.

This means you may experience tooth sensitivity when you have extremely hot and extremely cold food and beverages. This is a more common side effect of cosmetic teeth veneers. It is also easily solvable.

Just avoid very hot or cold food or drinks and you won’t have any sensitivity to your natural teeth. Also, toothpaste for sensitive teeth may help. You can ask your doctor for the best option for you.

It is a common concern that people ask, “Do veneers cause sensitive teeth?”

The general misconception is that porcelain or composite veneers might cause sensitive teeth in every single patient. This is usually due to the tooth preparation phase in the veneer process. In some patients, veneers act as protection for damaged teeth or chipped teeth. If you have sensitive teeth after veneers you should know it’s probably just temporary and you should wait out the adjusting phase. Usually, the sensitivity wears off by itself within a week.

Gum tissue inflammation

Minor inflammation of the gums is possible, as you adjust to your new teeth and bite. This may take some time and cause discomfort and gum irritation. More long-lasting or painful inflammations are not normal post-procedural side effects and you should get them checked out.

The dentist may advise some over-the-counter medication to calm the pain. If you notice it doesn’t go away after one week, you should get in touch with your dentist for a follow-up visit.

Sometimes if the dentist used too much cement to glue the veneers they can get chronically inflamed until the situation is solved. You will need to have a revision procedure to remove the veneer, let the dentist apply an adequate amount of cement, and glue them again. If you ignore the situation, the inflammation can turn into an infection and spread.

Tooth trauma and pulp decay

As we explained in the previous guide about veneers procedure, to create space for the veneers, the dentist files the natural teeth. This means eliminating a small layer of dental enamel. This dental procedure may cause the teeth to get weaker and create tooth trauma. But what does this mean? It means your teeth can be more sensitive and the pulp inside them may die.

This happens when your dentist removes too much enamel from your teeth. Pulp decay comes with symptoms like a change in color and pain, bad smell or taste, and sometimes pimples on your gum. This inflammatory process cuts off the blood supply and starves the nerve, killing the pulp and the teeth in the end.

Possible tooth decay

Your tooth enamel is the layer that protects your teeth against potential risks such as active tooth decay. Issues with decay could happen if your dentist removes too much enamel from your teeth as we mentioned above. Also if the application is not done right and there is a gap between the dental veneers and your natural tooth surface, bacteria could get in and cause cavities under the veneers.

Bad veneer application

Another problem that may occur is having issues with the exact placement during the application of veneers. This may cause pain or gum irritation and is one of the veneers side effects. When you align the veneers’ margins with the chewing edges you can end up chipping the veneers. But if you remove too little you can cause a thick-looking veneer. A bad application can also cause problems with speech, such as a lisp.  The dental veneer placement procedure is a work of precision and if you want to avoid veneers side effects you should always pick a very precise and experienced dentist.

Allergic reaction to anesthesia

Being allergic to the anesthetic is extremely unlikely but not impossible. During an allergic reaction, you may experience shortness of breath, swollen tongue, rashes, hives, itchy skin, and coughing. This is why it’s extremely important to talk to your doctor about any health issues or allergies you have before even starting the examination of your mouth.

Are any of these side effects long-term?

No. If your dentist does a good job with the placement of veneers then you have nothing to worry about. The side effects of veneers are only temporary. After 2 weeks you should be fine.

Do veneers ruin your teeth?

The short answer is no. During the veneer procedure, you only get a small layer of the teeth’ enamel removed without any damage to the teeth. Unexperienced doctors may shave too much, creating problems such as tooth sensitivity. This won’t be a problem at Dentfix. Dental facets help the appearance of teeth making them look like healthy teeth.

Do veneers hurt?

Not really. Pain could be one of the side effects of veneers that’s why dentists do the whole process with local anesthesia so you will be more comfortable during your dental visits. Most patients that have gotten veneers haven’t reported any pain but between visits and during the adjustment period, there could be some discomfort because of the temporary veneers.

Is there pain on the first visit?

The first real step in the procedure, enamel removal, tends to be the main cause for concern when it comes to experiencing pain while getting veneers.

As this step involves grinding the top layer of enamel with a tool called dental bur, dentists will use local anesthesia injected into the gums in the upper and lower jaw to prevent patients from feeling any pain. This injection usually causes a very mild sting in terms of pain. The patient may take over-the-counter pain medication if they feel any pain or discomfort.

Is there pain on the second visit?

In this step, your dentist will use a drill to get the temporary veneers out and place the new veneers with a bonding agent like an adhesive to create a secure bond. This could also cause anxiety in patients over the question of feeling pain or discomfort. Some dentists use local anesthetics in this step as well to make sure patients do not feel discomfort due to sensitive teeth.

After this step, make sure to do a follow-up visit so your dentist can check on your veneers and the state of your dental health.

Is there pain after the procedure?

There usually is some soreness after the procedure as you become accustomed to having veneers. The soreness also depends on how many veneers you have got. If you got only one or a couple of veneers on the teeth, the soreness often will be minimal to none.

If you have veneers on, for example, for all your upper teeth, then you might experience more soreness. However, this should not last more than a couple of days and would gradually fade as you get accustomed to your new teeth and bite. During this time, make sure to have softer foods that won’t cause you additional pain.

Pain while wearing temporary veneers

During this period, it is important to remember that your teeth might be more sensitive to foreign objects as the enamel removed from your teeth will mean there is less of a barrier between the nerve endings on your teeth and outside factors.

Of course, the level of pain or discomfort will depend on individual experience and level of sensitivity, it is normal to experience some sort of discomfort at this step while you wait for your custom veneers to be placed.

When you have temporary veneers in, you might have some extra sensitivity when eating and chewing your food. You can learn more about which foods you can have with temporary veneers to reduce the sensitivity to a minimum in our article.

References:

Alothman Y, Bamasoud MS. The Success of Dental Veneers According To Preparation Design and Material Type. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2018;6(12):2402-2408. Published 2018 Dec 14. doi:10.3889/oamjms.2018.353 Link