The main purpose of dental veneers is to bring a beautiful smile and confidence, but what happens if your veneers do not match your teeth?

Cosmetic dentistry is appreciated for helping in smile makeovers and improving people’s appearance. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s the other way around when the veneers are not completely matched with the rest of the teeth regarding size, shape, or color shade. In this article, we will go into detail on how a veneer can be a mismatch and what to do.

Let’s begin!

If your veneers are too big

Thick and bulky veneers that do not match the thickness and length of the adjacent teeth give an unpleasant and imbalanced look. Various reasons can be behind this such as:

• Inexperienced dentist,
• Wrong veneer size,
• Minimal to no preparation,
• The lab’s fault,
• The poor choice of veneer material 

Whatever the reason is, having veneers that are too big causes inconvenience for the patient in different aspects.

Effects your smile

Veneers that are too big affect your smile and can give you an uneven and slanted smile. Having bulky veneers on one side of the jaws can cause a diagonal canted smile which is aesthetically unpleasant. Choosing the right size for each tooth ensures an ideal smile people would fall for.

Effects your speech

Usually, a person might find difficulty speaking for two weeks after getting veneers until they are accustomed to their new dental veneers. However, in cases of veneers being too big or too thick, they face long-term complications such as lisping while speaking or the tongue getting stuck behind them unless they re-do their veneers.

Veneers might damage your original teeth

Interestingly when your veneers don’t match your teeth in regards to size, they can cause damage themselves. But how? Too big veneers cause misalignment, which leads to uneven distribution of bite force. This uneven distribution of pressure on veneers makes them prone to chipping and cracking. 

Another dental issue brought about by mismatched veneers is gum problems. When porcelain veneers are not of the right size and are too large, a tiny fraction of their margin might come on the gums causing irritation, inflammation, and eventually gum recession. 

If your veeners’ colors do not match

A mismatch in color is something immediately noticed by people. Before having veneers bonded permanently to your teeth, you should make sure they match your natural teeth perfectly regarding tooth color and the natural look. Veneers that are too white scream out they are fake, which also affects your entire smile. Don’t hesitate to express your dissatisfaction with the color mismatch during your fitting session.

If your veneers are too opaque

Porcelain veneers are semi-translucent, having a glowing structure just like natural teeth. When veneers are too thick rather than ultra-thin, they become too opaque and don’t allow the passing of light and reflect normally. This is in contrast to the adjacent teeth, creating an artificial and unappealing look. Veneers should match the translucency of the original teeth which is possible by using high-quality material by a skilled cosmetic dentist. 

Reasons why your veneers don’t match your teeth

Your dentist should have adequate skill and experience for the entire veneering process. Unlike caring for veneers which is mostly the patient’s responsibility, it is the dentist’s job to create veneers that are a perfect match to the teeth. So how can the dentist work end up in mismatching veneers?

Minimal to no preparation

If before installing the permanent veneers little to no preparation is done, it will result in veneers not completely matching other teeth. The dentist should take enough time to remove the adequate amount of the tooth surface, so the dental veneers can bond perfectly.

Sometimes the veneers might need some slight adjustments before the final installment. Ignoring this fact can end up in veneers being too thick and fake looking. On the other hand, natural human teeth are not completely square-shaped and are slightly rounded at the edges, and veneers with rough edges look unnatural and in contrast with the rest of the teeth arch.

Poor application

Using the correct bonding agent and the right technique is really important. Applying a sufficient amount of cement also helps create a nice symmetric smile. If the application process isn’t done with precision, the veneers don’t stick properly to the teeth surface and don’t sit well with other teeth. 

Bad choice of material

Quality matters. Sometimes a dentist decides to use materials that are cheaper. This can affect the quality of that substance which will eventually affect the final result. While choosing the right material we should consider the natural tooth structure and that permanent veneers should look exactly like them. The correct shade of color, translucent, and surface roughness are among the crucial factors to consider. 

The lab’s fault

Sometimes the fault might be from the laboratory’s side. The dentist takes an impression and sends it to the lab, so they can create the custom-made veneers for the patient. They might create the wrong size, color, or thickness and send it to the dental office. While trying on the veneers, if the dentist or the patient notices any difference the veneers should be sent back for correction.

Here’s what happens if your veneers do not match your teeth. Now let’s see what you can do about it!

What can you do if your veneers don’t match your teeth?

If dental veneers do not fit perfectly, they not only create aesthetic imperfections but also affect normal oral and dental function. In addition to functional and aesthetic effects, they also leave psychological impacts on the patient. After all, who wants half of their mouth to be different and unmatched by the other half despite spending so much money and enduring pain? Therefore they should be treated accordingly. Most of the time the only solution is to re-do the mismatched veneers. This dental situation should be taken care of by professional dentists and the patients should avoid trying at-home methods. What can you do if you are disappointed with your current veneer’s size, translucency, or thickness? Here we tell you what to do if your veneers don’t match your teeth.

Visit your dentist

You should discuss all the concerns and dental complications regarding this dental procedure with the same cosmetic dentist that performed it. Veneers should be customized for each patient individually. If the dentist made no to minimal preparation or didn’t take enough time to apply the veneers on your teeth it ends in veneers not fitting and looking fake.

Even If the dentist didn’t choose the correct shade and you noticed that veneers don’t match your natural teeth color, don’t hesitate to insist on the right color and ask for them to be changed.

Consult another dentist

If you are not satisfied with what your dentist did, you can always ask for a second opinion. Consulting with an advanced cosmetic dentist can help you get your mismatching veneers fixed. the most probable solution for the veneers that don’t match your teeth is to re-do them and when are already disappointed with the result it’s better to get your new porcelain veneers from a skilled dentist who has a deep understanding of your aesthetic goals and how to carry out this subtle dental procedure. When you choose the correct dentist, hopefully, you won’t need to worry about what happens if your veneers do not match your teeth!

References:

McLaren EA. Luminescent veneers. J Esthet Dent. 1997;9(1):3-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8240.1997.tb00909.x. PMID: 9468872.

Dozic A, Tsagkari M, Khashayar G, Aboushelib M. Color management of porcelain veneers: influence of dentin and resin cement colors. Quintessence Int. 2010 Jul-Aug;41(7):567-73. PMID: 20614043.