My new porcelain veneers are too shiny! They look fake and unnatural. Is there any way that the shine can be dulled or adjusted? Natural teeth don’t shine like mine do. I look silly.
-Becky in Indiana
The shine on porcelain veneers comes from the glaze that is applied to them. The glaze also helps protect them against stains and also makes them more lifelike. However, it sounds like that’s not the case with you. It’s likely that the cosmetic dentist didn’t apply it correctly.
In order for porcelain veneers to look natural, the glaze must be applied with some texture. Based on your description of your porcelain veneers, they sound flat, which is making them look fake.
The shine is one of the characteristics of a beautiful smile. An excellent cosmetic dentist will vary the use of shine and texture based on each case. For example, a younger patient will need more texture. And an older patients doesn’t require as much texture.
It is unfortunate that you spent a lot of money on your new smile makeover and your not happy with how the veneers look. This leads to an important point, not every dentist can do beautiful cosmetic dentistry. It requires extensive training beyond dental school to get the bonding technologies and techniques just right. And the hard part is that any dentist can claim to be a cosmetic dentist without any additional training.
Steps to achieve a beautiful smile makeover
Many cosmetic dentists will actually allow you to try them on and wear temporary veneers for a short time. This important step enables you to see exactly what they will look like before they are permanently bonded. Then, if you don’t love them, an expert cosmetic dentist will inquire why that is. Your porcelain veneers will not be permanently bonded in place until love them and they will be sent back to the laboratory until they are perfect. Other cosmetic dentists have different steps, yet the idea is they want you to love them before they are bonded. This is often times called a beautiful smile guarantee.
So, here you are now with shiny porcelain veneers. One solution is to have a dental hygienist use a Prophy Jet to polish them. This will spray the teeth with sodium bicarbonate. It will reduce the shine. However, it will ruin the glaze. Then, you porcelain veneers will be unprotected from picking up stains. Also, without the texture, they won’t quite achieve that lifelike, natural look.
Try going back to the dentist that originally place them and explain how unhappy you are with them. You invested a lot for beautiful porcelain veneers and you deserve them. Hopefully, the dentist will redo them for you. The next time around, be sure to insist you see exactly how they are going to look before they are permanently bonded in place.
Good luck!
This post is sponsored by Barrington cosmetic dentist James T. Gavrilos, DDS.