Porcelain veneers are a great cosmetic treatment for improving the appearance of your smile, and they’re really the best way to reshape your teeth, which includes making them wider, changing their shape, or making them longer.
But it’s not always easy to make teeth longer. There are many potential challenges we might face in making your teeth longer with veneers.
Impacting Lower Teeth
One of the biggest problems is that your upper teeth might contact your lower teeth much more frequently. This can lead to wear on both your veneers and your natural teeth. It can lead to early veneer failure. It can even contribute to bite problems like TMJ.
Making Veneers Vulnerable
Dental veneers are made out of advanced ceramics, which means that they’re very strong, but they’re even stronger when they’re bonded to your natural teeth. When veneers extend beyond the end of your natural teeth, they’re standing on their own, which, again, can make them prone to early failure.
Difficulty Talking or Chewing
Your teeth perform a lot of functions beyond making for a beautiful smile. Making your veneers too long can interfere with some of these other functions, which can cause difficulty chewing, unwanted noises or contacts, and early veneer failure.
Unattractive or Unnatural Results
Another problem with making your teeth too long might be that the results just don’t look attractive. They might not harmonize with your facial proportions or they just might not look right in your mouth. And if your teeth are too long, they might just look fake.
Overcoming the Challenges
All of these challenges can be overcome, but sometimes it takes additional treatments as part of your veneers process. We may recommend orthodontics or work on other teeth to help maintain the proper proportions and balance in your bite while protecting your veneers. With your new smile, it’s worth it to get it right the first time, rather than having to try to figure out what went wrong later.
And, of course, we’ll give you the opportunity to see your new veneers before you commit to them. To learn more about getting the best results with your personal smile makeover, please call (610) 272-0828 for an appointment with a Philadelphia cosmetic dentist at Dental Excellence of Blue Bell.
