After all of the conversations happening with you guys on instagram about my veneers, it’s time to give you the FULL run down.
If you’re just hearing about this for the first time, let me get you caught up before we dive in.
When I was 8, I was rollerblading down a driveway and face planted (cute), which chipped my front tooth in half (super cute). From what I remember, it was conveniently right around picture day (wonderful) so my mom rushed to get me into the dentist to have it fixed. Since then, I’ve had a composite filling that got the job done for the most part.
That was until I got my braces off and discovered teeth whitening. I realized the composite filling wasn’t going to be so great after all seeing as it was a completely different color than my fresh white teeth.
I went through the next few years just not worrying about it, but then the next realization hit. My front teeth weren’t even the same length.
BEFORE
Once I started to notice it in photos, it’s all I could see when I looked at my teeth.
The third and final straw was when I realized my 2nd tooth over was also slightly chipped on the back corner.
Even though these tiny details were invisible to most, when I looked in the mirror it was often the first thing I noticed.
Fast forward to my teeth whitening appointment at OC Healthy Smiles.
I mentioned to the dental team that I was interested in exploring options for fixing my teeth. At this point I was about a month and a half out from our wedding.
After meeting with Dr. Nguyen to voice my concerns and describe the overall goal for my smile, he said that I should consider veneers.
Since I have a pretty wide smile, he recommended doing 8 teeth (started as 10, but in the appointment he decided that wasn’t necessary after all).
I was eager to get started as it was my original goal to have it all done for my wedding, but after looking at our schedules we realized it would be a gamble trying to fit the appointments necessary in before our big day. Chances were that I’d be in temporaries for my wedding, and at first I thought it would be no big deal, but after having temporaries I can fully say DO NOT get them in for any big events – wait until the event has passed or plan accordingly leading up to it.
The temporaries look great and no one has even noticed, but it’s more about the restrictions of what you can and cannot eat/drink, and the possibility of them chipping or coming off.
Cosmetic dental work is obviously not something you want to risk on what is quite possibly the most photographed day of your life so I decided to be patient.
APPOINTMENT 1
The first veneer appointment is the toughest on pretty much all levels.
I went in expecting the worst, and came out pleasantly surprised that it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
Before we began, Dr. Nguyen numbed my upper gum so that he could give me the shots that would numb pretty much my entire face (lol). Once everything had set in, he got to work!
Going to break this out by section since there were so many questions on the specifics – if I left anything out, please comment below, DM me or email me! Happy to go into as much detail as possible 🙂
From here on out, the images below are with my temporaries in.
TEETH DRILLING
I will not sugar coat the fact that it is a little bit insane thinking about my 8 natural teeth being drilled down to little versions of teeth so that I can get new teeth placed on top of them.
I also did not shy away from looking at them after he had finished drilling so I could get a visual – you guys, it is straight up HICK. Like right out of a movie where the character has little spread out teeth. I almost took a photo but couldn’t handle the thought of that type of blackmail existing LOL.
I shouldn’t be THAT dramatic, but those were all my first thoughts. The reality of it is that all my front teeth were just slightly smaller and had gaps in between them all. It didn’t upset me to see, but it was freaky. I was expecting them to be way smaller, but they weren’t that bad! Also, the feeling / sound / smell of what you might expect when imagining your teeth being drilled didn’t affect me. I think the noise cancelling headphones helped a lot because I was focussed on my podcasts and didn’t feel uncomfortable during the drilling process like I thought I would be.
The emotional connection to my real teeth did come up for me leading up to the appointment. I’m not quite sure how to eloquently describe the connection, but it does feel weird knowing that you’re about to get rid of the adult teeth you’ve had your whole life.
For me, it was a fleeting feeling once I told myself I already had fillings and false teeth as it was – the composite filling I had for 20 years was not my own tooth, and I didn’t think about it EVER. Nor did it change my life in any way. Once I talked myself out of the emotional connection, all that was left was fear and excitement.
Thankfully the team at OC Healthy Smiles goes above and BEYOND to make you comfortable. No matter what you visit their office for, they supply you with their “comfort menu” to make sure your visit is as easy as possible. This came in handy during the appointment because I was able to use their noise-cancelling headphones to listen to my podcasts the entire time. Believe it or not, I even fell asleep (!!!!!) at one point because I was so cozy under the blankets.
The other saving grace during what I thought would be a 6 hour appointment was the amount of breaks that Dr. Nguyen provided. Each segment of the appointment was anywhere from 45 min – 1 hour, and he would step away for about 10 minutes in between. I was able to sit up, check my phone and emails, discuss what was happening etc. Dr. Nguyen also made sure we had clear communication throughout – if I needed more numbing, or something was wrong, he made sure to address it immediately.
TEMPORARIES
I had never heard of temporaries before I began the veneer process. Truthfully I thought it was just one appointment and you had perfect teeth. Silly me.
When I was contemplating getting this done for my wedding, I was able to talk to a friend who had them done and she discouraged me (thankfully) from going through with it specifically because of the temporaries.
Now that I’ve had them in for a little over a week I can 100% say I am SO glad I didn’t do it before my wedding.
The look of them is great – no one notices and when I tell them they even look at the teeth and say “yeah I would have no idea unless you told me.” Which is great!
Despite the great look of them, they’re most just inconvenient and uncomfortable. It basically feels like I have teeth whitening trays in on my top teeth at all times. They’re slightly thicker than real teeth, feel a little bit different texture wise, and unfortunately aren’t as white as my own teeth.
These are all things only I notice, but I want to be completely candid on this part of the process.
The other thing to note is that the temporaries are all one piece (vs individual teeth) so you can’t floss with them. It’s a super weird sensation to get used to, and truth be told it’s still weird not being able to get any liquids through any of my front upper teeth…but I know it’ll be worth it.
Typically temporaries are meant to be in for 2-3 weeks while your veneers are being crafted in the lab, but I will have had mine in about 4 weeks due to potential travel that’s come up. I asked the team at OC Healthy Smiles if this was an issue, and they said there were no risks involved with having temporaries in longer other than chipping and discoloring.
I went into the appointment at 11:30 and was out by 3:30, which was a breeze considering I expected to be there for 6+ hours.
FOOD & DRINK
With the temporaries in, I have to be EXTREMELY careful with what I eat and drink.
Since they are porous I have to stay away from anything that would stain unless it’s through a straw. Red wine is a huge dilemma because I am NOT a fan drinking it though a straw, but coffee has been fine since I stick to iced drinks 98% of the time.
As far as food goes, I can only use my back molars to chew. Absolutely nothing hard (nuts, chips, corn, apples etc) should be bitten down on with my front teeth, and everything I do eat is cut up into tiny pieces. In the beginning I thought I would have to stick to a liquid / Mac & cheese diet, but once the tenderness from the appointment wore off I was able to eat pretty much anything solid as long as it is cut small enough.
The veneers are completely different than the temporaries.
Coffee, tea, red wine and other foods do not stain veneers as they do real teeth because unlike tooth enamel, porcelain is not porous (meaning no more having to whiten your teeth!).
As far as strength goes, no matter if you have your real teeth or veneers you should always be cognizant of what types of foods you’re biting into with what teeth. I will for sure maintain a level of timidness as I get used to the veneers, but in comparison to the temporaries they will be a world of difference.
COST
Aside from fear, cost was the next most significant reason for why I kept putting off veneers / dental work in general.
It’s no secret that veneers are expensive, but thankfully OC Healthy Smiles has ways of working with everyone to get you the smile you long for.
As far as I’m concerned, insurance does not step in to assist with veneers as it is typically considered a cosmetic issue vs something medically necessary. Perhaps there are exceptions to this rule, like if you get hurt in an accident (God forbid) but I am not 100% sure. This would be a question for your insurance carrier.
For each veneer, prices start at $1475. If you decide to do 6 or more, OC Healthy Smiles takes off $75 per tooth.
They also offer payment plans through CareCredit which is a game changer.
This 3rd party financing option offers 12, 18 or 24 months. NO interest is charged on purchases of $200 or more when you make the minimum monthly payments and pay the full amount due by the end of the promotional period.
Though this procedure is a more expensive option, there are ways to make it possible!
MAINTENANCE
Veneers can typically last 10 or more years. The better you take care of them (just as you would your natural teeth) the longer they’ll last.
Doing normal cleanings and exams every 6 months, flossing and using an electric tooth brush are all recommended.
Like I mentioned above, you shouldn’t bite into anything hard like ice, pretzels or nuts with the front teeth to prevent chipping.
If something does happen, OC Healthy Smiles offers a 6 year warranty on crowns and veneers.
VENNER COLOR, SHAPE, & COUNT
Dr. Nguyen and the lab create the shape that goes along best with your face shape using LVI Smile Library, which classifies veneer shape into 12 difference styles describing the characteristic smile they wish to portray.
Before we started this process I was able to go into the office to physically hold and see what their first round of veneer mock ups looked like.
According to OC Healthy Smiles, they typically see more square shapes for males and rounder shapes for females, but everyone’s face shapes and preferences are different!
Between appointment 1 (initial teeth drilling and temporaries placement) and appointment 2 (veneer placement) you go into the lab OC Healthy Smiles works with to color match your veneers with your teeth. The dentist office provided me with whitening trays to make sure my teeth were the color I wanted them to be leading up to this. The color-match appointment is fairly easy and quick.
When I go in for appointment 2, if I’m not completely happy with the shape and color, I’ll be able to make changes. This is why we weren’t confident moving forward with veneers before the wedding – if I didn’t LOVE the veneers, Dr. Nguyen asks that they be reimagined at the lab for another try the following week.
Fingers crossed that all goes to plan and we won’t need to go back for a redo, but I’ll keep you updated on that.
I got a lot of questions on why I was doing so many teeth if I just wanted to fix two of them. OC Healthy Smiles recommends that if you want to do multiple veneers you do them together. This way they are made together, with the same technician, with the same color/shade formula. It made sense to me and once I examined more of my teeth (when you start to think about doing veneers, teeth is all you can focus on lol) I was comfortable altering more than just the two I was initially concerned with.
WHY
Not gonna lie, I was really worried about putting this all on social media at first.
Everyone is always going to have their own opinion on why people do what they do, but at the end of the day, getting veneers is something I’ve been thinking about doing for years. I even told my mom when we got engaged that I was determined to get my teeth fixed before the wedding because I was so intent on having my dream smile for the big day.
Even though we didn’t make that deadline, I am SO happy that I am finally going forward with it.
I don’t think I’ll have true peace of mind until the veneers are actually in (mostly because these temporaries are just annoying) but I am very happy with my decision.
My main reason for choosing veneers is because there’s no reason I should settle for dental work that was done for me when I was 8 years old. If I want to enhance my smile, no matter how much I already loved it, there’s no reason not to. Not to mention, the composite filling probably wasn’t going to last forever anyways – so why not take matters into my own hands before it chips out again?
I also began to notice how much it frustrated me to see my teeth at certain angles in photos. Seeing as I take photos almost everyday of my life, I didn’t want this to be a weight on me mentally or emotionally. If this seemingly small solution was going to make me a little more forgiving to myself when I looked at my smile in photos, then I owed it to myself to try.
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN / RECOMMEND IT?
Honestly, I would be careful who I recommend it to.
If given the choice to do this all again for myself, I would JUMP at it. I would have just done it a few months before the wedding 😉
Knowing WHY I wanted to get veneers, I can say that this process is totally worth it. If someone were to be on the fence about it and not really have strong reasons for why they want to go through with it, I would say to give the thought some time before jumping in.
If you do have perfectly fine teeth and they don’t ever bug you, then don’t fix what isn’t broke.
If you’ve been thinking about veneers for more than 6 months to a year at this point, then I’d say it’s worth looking into. If you’re in Southern California and can get to OC Healthy Smiles, then I think it’s absolutely worth a conversation with Dr. Nguyen.
You can go in, get a teeth cleaning / whitening, and chat about the pros and cons. At the bare minimum you’ll leave with a brighter smile and a better understanding if this process is your best option!
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TEMPORARIES
I’m set to go in for appointment 2 on November 21st, so I will keep you guys posted!
If I missed your question in this post, like I said, please let me know 🙂
Thank you for reading!!
