Still, there’s a reason why veneers, like any other cosmetic procedure, are popular in the first place: Straight white teeth are part of the ever-present, often suffocating beauty standard. “We’ve had feedback from patients who are like, ‘Yeah, since I got my smile done, people treat me differently,’” Dr. Davis says. “It’s unfortunate that that’s the case. But it seems to happen, right? People just have this different perception.”
It’s easy to fixate on imperfections—ways in which we fall short of the impossibly high bar set by social media and celebrities. If you find yourself worrying about how your natural teeth look to the point that you feel depressed or anxious, or deal with a condition like body dysmorphic disorder, getting veneers can seem like a silver bullet.
If that’s your mindset, though, it’s wise to reevaluate whether it’s the right choice for you at all. “If someone is confident and not struggling with their self-esteem, then it’s highly likely that person could have a positive experience,” Ashley McHan, LMHC, a licensed trauma and eating disorder specialist and the host of In Our Skin, a podcast about body image, tells SELF. But if you’re struggling with your self-perception or fixating on a certain insecurity, then it’s important to remember that “procedures that change our body don’t tend to have a lasting effect on how we see ourselves.”
There’s also the disturbing possibility that once you get veneers, you’ll realize that your unvarnished teeth, flaws and all, were part of what made you look like…you. Dr. Davis says that lately, he sees more people come to him asking for slight tweaks on their natural smiles—or even for revisions on veneers done by other dentists. “Oftentimes, these aren’t patients with unhealthy teeth,” Dr. Davis says. “They come in and they’re just sad. They’re young, they have their whole lives ahead of them, and it’s just this feeling of regret: ‘I grinded my teeth down, and I don’t like my smile.’ We hear it all the time: ‘I actually preferred my smile before.’”
Dr. Patel agrees. While the patients at his Beverly Hills practice still tend to go for a glowy white look, he says there’s a lot more care and concern from patients about getting teeth that fit their faces, versus going home with what he calls “BBL teeth”—the one-size-fits-all XL treatment. “Because influencers had those big, white teeth, that became the attractive thing to have,” Dr. Patel says. “But now, more and more people are learning, ‘Oh, wow—they look good in a photo, maybe, but in real life, I’m not able to talk properly, I’m not able to chew properly, and they don’t look real—and I don’t like that anymore.’”
Bottom line: You have one (precious) set of teeth.
BBLs and other surgical procedures are an apt comparison to veneers, up to a point. BBLs can be shrunk, breast implants can be removed—but once your teeth get shaved down and fitted with veneers, part of your literal bones are gone. “Don’t assume this is a reversible procedure,” Dr. Patel says. “I spend an hour during my consultations with patients, to make sure they know that it’s not like going to a shop and buying a product that is going to be consistent between different stores.”
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