A few years ago, Lyndsay Carreno was eating sushi on a date when her dental veneers seemed to come loose. She didn’t panic because it wasn’t the first time she’d had them.
At age 24, Carreno chose to get porcelain veneers on her four front teeth to improve her appearance. A few years later, she replaced two of them, a decision she now regrets.
“From a cosmetic point of view, they really lived up to my expectations at the time,” Carreno, now 31, told Yahoo. She used to be unhappy with her natural teeth, thinking they were too big and crooked. “But until now, I’m still dealing with the aftereffects.”
The global pursuit of a “perfect smile” continues to heat up, and veneers have become a popular choice. Data shows that by 2031, the global dental veneer market is expected to reach $3.88 billion. Today, more than half of dental treatments are for aesthetic reasons rather than medical needs, and Carreno is a microcosm of this trend.
Carreno’s decision was partly influenced by her mother. Her mother lost her front teeth in an accident and had dental implants to restore them with good results. “I remember her teeth looked beautiful and she was very happy with them,” Carreno said.
However, dental implants are fundamentally different from veneers. Dental implants are fixed with surgical pins and have a stronger structure, while veneers are just a thin layer of porcelain attached to the surface of the natural teeth that have been ground.
“If you knew that the process was essentially destroying healthy teeth in exchange for appearance, you might not make a decision easily,” Carreno said. “But I was too young at the time and only thought about appearance.”
Her experience is not an isolated case. TikTok celebrity Alix Earle has also publicly expressed regret over veneer problems. After a veneer broke during a trip, she filmed a video to warn fans to cherish their natural teeth.
Dr. Sandip Sachar, a cosmetic dentist in New York, pointed out that many people do not have enough information before getting veneers, or choose a doctor with inappropriate skills.
“Many people regret it after they realize that a lot of healthy tooth structure has been permanently ground away,” she explained. “The consequences of this are rarely discussed.”
Carreno went to a dentist recommended by an acquaintance in Washington, D.C., without doing any background checks or seeking a second opinion. “I just heard him say, ‘We can make them look better,’ and I agreed,” she recalled.
A similar situation happened to Mackenzie Nichols, a registered nurse living in Chicago.
The 27-year-old had healthy teeth, but she was inspired to get veneers because she envied her neighbor’s “transformation”. Without knowing more, she accepted the doctor’s advice and went from six teeth to eight veneers.
“At first I was excited and felt that I was going to have a new smile,” said Nichols, now 30. “But when the teeth were actually ground and the temporary veneers were applied, I realized: What on earth did I do?”
Dr. Sachar said this kind of “post-operative regret” is very common in clinical practice. Once the teeth are ground down, the patient realizes that the process is irreversible, and the psychological impact follows. The regret was especially acute when the veneers didn’t fit properly.
Nichols experienced many twists and turns during her treatment. Her temporary veneers didn’t fit properly, she had to eat liquid food, and she was back to the clinic for help within 12 hours. Ultimately, her original order of eight veneers was changed to eight crowns, with four more veneers added.
“It was supposed to be a two-week process, but it took four months,” she said. “And it was very painful.”
She has since had to go to the dentist for frequent cleanings and laser treatments because her gums have continued to become inflamed from bacterial infections caused by the veneers. Some of the veneers didn’t fit properly, causing root infections, and she still needs root canals.
Carreno also changed dentists because her veneers kept falling off. Sometimes, she could even floss them off. She also had to deal with receding gums and had to have her veneers remade. “It cost $2,000 per tooth,” she said. “You have to go through the whole process of getting anesthesia, getting temporary veneers, and then getting permanent veneers.”
Ali Holston, 37, who had veneers for a jaw problem, had a similarly difficult experience. Temporary veneers cause bad breath because bacteria grows between your natural teeth and the veneers.
In the first week of wearing permanent veneers alone, three of them fell off. She showed them to her dentist in a sealed bag and said, “I never agreed to this.”
Holston was fortunate to get a refund and had her veneers re-done by a new dentist. She is pleased with the new veneers.
But not everyone is as lucky. Nichols ended up getting veneers she wasn’t happy with because she didn’t want to continue the treatment. She said if she could do it again, she would choose a completely different look.
Carreno also cried when she saw her veneers for the first time. “I can finally smile confidently and stop hiding from the camera,” she said.
However, she is exhausted by the frequent maintenance and the risk of the veneers falling off. “I have to prepare emergency funds at all times in case the veneers fall off again,” she said.
Celebrities are not immune. Actress Jennifer Lawrence once lost a veneer while filming a movie and had to fix it in post-production. Model Ashley Graham once showed an embarrassing picture of her veneer falling off while biting a cookie on social media.
Dr. Sachar said that veneers can be used for more than 25 years, but the premise is that the operation is standardized and the doctor is qualified. She recommends choosing a board-certified restorative dentist and checking the doctor’s patient feedback and treatment cases.
“You have to ask clearly in advance, what if you are not satisfied? Different doctors have different policies,” she said. “In my clinic, our principle is: until you are satisfied. But not every doctor does this.”