Is Cosmetic Dentistry Bad For My Existing Teeth?

Written by Dr. Reuben Sim
Published: 22-01-2022

Is cosmetic dentistry good or bad for your teeth? Well yes, it can be bad for your teeth.

 

The reason for this is because when you do cosmetic dentistry, there’s usually some form of tooth shaving per se. If it’s not preplanned properly, you may even end up losing a tooth, or the doctor or dentist might end up shaving too much away or they might end up killing a tooth as well. That’s a bad sign of cosmetic dentistry! So if you don’t preplan it well enough, that could happen.

The second thing is, if you don’t have an experienced person doing the treatment for you. In this case, the dentist may only know one way to fix your teeth, which may not be the best solution for you or for your smile. That process is normally irreversible and permanent, so you can’t change things after that. And that’s a bad sign of cosmetic dentistry that is bad for your existing teeth.

Now the good news is, that all this can be done relatively safe if it is pre-planned properly by the right professional, who has got enough experience in doing cosmetic dentistry. So for example, before you even start doing veneers, or a smile makeover, be certain that you get a blueprint of a smile design.

When you get a blueprint you get to see how much tooth has been shaved away, or how much tooth needs to be reduced so that you get to know exactly what are the risks you’re taking before you even embark on a cosmetic journey.

The other good news is that in most cases, if you pre-plan it well enough, sometimes you can actually do prepless veneers. This means we may not even need to touch your teeth at all. We might just do a bit of polishing or create a bit of roughness on the tooth. That can happen only if you preplan the cases! Therefore, when you see a dentist, make sure that they know many ways to make your teeth looking good — not just veneers. Make sure they can also do braces, Invisalign, crowns and veneers. They should have a whole range of knowledge in dealing with a cosmetic case, so that they can pinpoint what’s best for you moving forwards.

For example, you’ve got a tooth that’s sticking too far out, and the dentist only knows how to do veneers. You’re going to be cutting a lot of tooth away to get the veneer placed on, and that’s irreversible. Sometimes that’s not the best thing for you. So if it’s too far out, and it’s not at a position where it’s viable to do veneers, they might then recommend that you bring the teeth back in first before you start doing cosmetic work with veneers, by completing orthodontic treatment such as Invisalign or braces.

So to sum it all up, what’s important is for you to understand the dentist that you’re seeing has to be well equipped and versatile in what they can do. If your dentist doesn’t have the right skills, then your existing teeth may be damaged. Hopefully this helps you in making the right decision for your smile and your teeth.