I have recently (few months ago) had two porcelain veneers placed on my lateral incisors as they had spaces on either side and were a bit too short compared to my front teeth. Since there was plenty of room to work with all around each tooth, I didn’t need to have any reduction of the enamel…it was just simply “roughed up” about a week before the procedure (the roughed up tooth looked the same as before it was roughed up). However, I am not too happy about the appearance and it does not feel like “my smile” and my mouth gets very dry quickly when I speak. So my question is, since my tooth still pretty much looks the same under the veneer and there was no actual reduction in size of the tooth, would it be possible to remove the veneers non-invasively and still have healthy teeth (my old smile)? I read somewhere online about a laser that non-invasively removes veneers…but would my tooth still look/feel the same with the veneer removed? Please let me know. Thanks.
- Tessa
Tessa,
That’s a shame that you had this work done and you actually like the appearance of your teeth better before these porcelain veneers were put on than after.
Yes, you can have the veneers removed and get down to the original enamel, but it has to be done very carefully, and there are going to be very few dentists who can do this without damaging your tooth.
There is a laser removal technique that uses a laser to soften the bonding resin so that the veneer can be popped off. I don’t know how many dentists are familiar with this technique and have the required equipment to do this. We have a laser in our office, but most dental offices don’t, and Dr. Rota has the experience to be able to do this. If I were the patient, I would test the dentist by calling the office and asking, “How would Dr. So-and-So remove two porcelain veneers that I have decided I don’t like?” If they volunteer that the dentist would do it with a laser, without you ever bringing up the idea of the laser, then that would be a good way to determine that they are truly familiar with this technique.
If the dentist doesn’t have a laser, there is a way that the veneer could be ground off without damage to the underlying tooth, but that has to be done very carefully and the dentist needs to be experienced in this. If it is done dry and under magnification, a skilled and experienced cosmetic dentist should be able to easily tell where the porcelain ends and the tooth begins, to know how much to grind off. But that term, “skilled and experienced cosmetic dentist” is going to limit you to about one to two percent of dentists, and they will tend to be in larger cities.
My view is that it is the responsibility of the dentist to make sure that you loved how the veneers looked before ever putting them on. If that had been done, you wouldn’t even think of ever taking them off. We never have that happen in our office, where a patient is unhappy with how the porcelain veneers look.
This blog brought to you by Colorado Springs cosmetic dentist Dr. Joseph Rota.