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What are Veneers?

As I mentioned last week I am getting my veneers done at Bayan Dental. I also said I would explain what veneers were in a different post so here it is.

A veneer is a very thin material that is placed over the tooth either to visually enhance/fix the teeth or in some cases to protect a damaged tooth. It requires very minimal tooth preparation which means they don’t drill a lot to get them to fit on your teeth. They’re nicknamed the Hollywood smile since veneers are used by actors to get the perfect smile. I asked Bayan Dental to send me some cases they’ve worked on so I can share it with my readers and they sent me a zip file containing around 10 different cases which you can download from [Here]

Anyway I passed by my dentist (Dr Samer Khaddour) today and got my teeth prepped for the veneers. I have temporary dental veneers on right now while my proper ones get made. These temporary veneers do help give an idea of how the finished outcome will look like and so far I’m finding them pretty cool although a bit tall so he is going to shorten my actual veneers for me by just a bit. You also get to choose the color of your veneers (don’t get any ideas no bling bling colors just different shades of white) and I ended up going with a shade that’s slightly lighter than the original. My next session is next week so will post again after that.

Like last time if you have any dental questions ask below and someone from Bayan Dental will reply back. They’re actually very quick to reply and also helpful so take advantage of this.

53 replies on “What are Veneers?”

Looks really cool…

BTW, can you give a rough cost estimate for the operation you are going through?

How durable are they and how long do they last?
If you have veneers how do you take care of your teeth? The front of your real teeth will be covered by the veneers,and you won’t be able to brush it.
Are dental implants,which I guess would be way more expensive,not better as a long term solution?
If you have really bad teeth,would it not be better to replace it instead of hiding it?

Hey Mark,

I got 2 questions for you:

1. How much does the procedure roughly cost?

2. How practical are they i.e. will i need to get them cleaned or replaced regularly?

Thanks Mark.

thank you for your comments..one of Bayan Dentals specialists will answer any questions you may have:D

cost wise I will let someone from Bayan answer since i am not sure the price i was told was a special price just for me or the actual price.

durability they are supposed to last 20-30 years.
you clean them like regular teeth with a regular tooth brush except the difference is veneers and the side the veneers are protecting don’t get tooth decay.

dental implants are a completely different thing and used for a completely different reason.. thats not including the fact that with dental implants they pull the whole teeth out and then drill a new one into your jaw bone! urgh i would never want to go through that…

some nice work in that file.. but some look really fake. But I noticed that the fake looking ones are REALLY white and they already had big teeth to begin with.

you can have lumineers instead, they’re painless, do not require drilling ur tooth (just incase u decided not to have them anymore) BUT, theyre more expensive!!

I heard from a dentist that its not really good for your teeth as a tooth is composed of 3 layers and they erase the first layer, and replace it with the veneer, IF the veneer for some reason moves or goes off, you will be in trouble as the middle layer is hella sensitive. I think he mentioned something about lumineers being a better option but they cost more.

Hopefully this gets clarified by Bayan Dental

How painful is the procedure? I have sensitive teeth .. and i’m horrified of having dental procedures. But I think that having a Hollywood smile would be nice.

It would be better if Bayan Clinic gives a detailed downloadable price list of each procedure so that readers would have some sort of idea of what the cost would be.Then you subtract the 17% discount they’re offering 248am readers.

“You also get to choose the color of your veneers and I ended up going with a shade that’s slightly lighter than the original”

Matching shade to your new FJ right? 😉

thankyou for all those comments again:) the specialist will answer all the questions in a short while. You can also check us out on facebook- bayan dental clinic group- we always have interesting subjects to talk about & would be more than happy to answer any of your questions..

now regarding the discount- the 17% discount is for non cosmetic procedures i.e. root canals…fillings etc….

also due to the nature of our work; we cant always give the person an exact price without examing the “mouth/teeth”; however we can give price estimates- min & max prices:)

We also wanted to clarify a point; veneers may be suitable for some people and not for others depending on the case; and the same goes for lumineers.
thank you

Hello everyone,

Thank you for posting your questions.

Q1. How much do they cost?
The cost of veneers at Bayan is 200KD/tooth

Q 2. How durable are they and how long do they last?
In the literature success rate of veneers is very high (98%) for 10 years. It is the same success rate for crowns, bridges and dental implants. With good care they can last up to 30 years. A big decisive factor for durability is careful preparation. So make sure you pick a good qualified dentist for this procedure.

Q 3. If you have veneers how do you take care of your teeth? The front of your real teeth will be covered by the veneers, and you won’t be able to brush it.
Veneers are cemented to your teeth. The same way crowns and bridges get cemented to your teeth. When cemented, the veneer will adhere to your tooth and become part of it. It is impossible to dislodge the veneer after cementation. You treat veneers as a natural tooth, you brush it and floss around it, and you get check-ups every 6 months.

Q 4. Are dental implants, which I guess would be way more expensive, not better as a long term solution? If you have really bad teeth, would it not be better to replace it instead of hiding it?
The indications for dental implants are totally different from the indications for veneers. Dental implants are used to replace missing teeth, or to replace a bably decayed and broken down tooth. We never recommend taking out a healthy tooth and replace with an implant. The cost of placing a dental implant is 400KD.

Q 5. How practical are they i.e. will I need to get them cleaned or replaced regularly?
Treat a veneered tooth as you would treat a natural tooth. You need check-ups every 6 months, You need to brush twice a day and floss daily.

Q 6. You can have lumineers instead, they’re painless, do not require drilling ur tooth.
Veneers and lumineers are similar in that they are both thin porcelain shells. Lumineers do not require preparation, while veneers require minor preparation. Lumineers will add fullness while veneers don’t. Your dentist will recommend which will be better for your smile.

Q 7. I heard from a dentist that its not really good for your teeth as a tooth is composed of 3 layers and they erase the first layer, and replace it with the veneer,
Your tooth is composed of 3 layers. Enamel (outer layer), dentin and pulp (inner layer). Veneer preparations require the removal of 0.3mm-0.5mm of enamel only. The thickness of enamel is 1.5mm. So after veneer preparation you will be left with 1.2mm-1.0mm of enamel. If your dentist has to remove the enamel layer, due to decay or deep stains, then veneers cannot be placed and your dentist will recommend crowns for better coverage.

Q 8. How painful is the procedure?
Veneers preparation is done under local anesthesia. So you will not experience any pain.

Haneen Bokhadhoor, DDS. CAGS. MSD
Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology

regarding the pricelist…if you have a treatment/procedure in mind we will give an approximate estimate price:)

Zed,

The best whitening procedure is bleaching. I know you mentioned “forget about bleaching” but it is really the best and the safest method.

You can go for veneers or lumineers for a whiter nicer smile if your dentist decided you fit the criteria.

Haneen Bokhadhoor, DDS, CAGS, MSD
Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology

Question for Bayan Dental Center:

1. do you honor health cards such as Alico?

2. I have an impacted tooth. Do you operate using local anaesthesia or general anaesthesia for this case?

I’d really appreciate your reply.

note:
bayan dental does offer corporate rates/benefits + student discounts/benefits + bank employee discount rates/benefits.

i have sensitive teeth, i cant do bleach, i dont think my teeth need veneers cause they are in very good placement and condition, but i do want to get a couple of shades whiter 😀

what are lumineers?

Zed,

Lumineers are similar to veneers. If your teeth are in a good shape and position then there is no need for lumineers or veneers

There is a solution … One brand of in-office bleaching is called Sapphire. It gives much less sensitivity.

I hope this is helpful

I have a question for the experts that I have moderate to sever attrition in my front teeth (6-8 teeth in each arch).. I have consulted the experts and they suggest a Crown for each tooth..

My question is can I go for Veneer on such teeth which jave suffered moderate attrition or I need the crown first and then veneers ??? Will it have reasonable life (10+ years)

any help will be appreciated.

Thanks for your reply Dr. Haneen. I’ll try to drop by your Salmiya branch one of these days. =)

Bill,

Veneers are not recommended if you are a grinder. Remember, veneers are thin porcelain shells and won’t withstand the load you put on them when you grind, and will chip away just like a natural tooth would chip away when you grind.

If you have mild attrition, then crowning the upper and lower front teeth is a solution.

But if you have severe attrition, your dentist will recommend to open your bite first. Because if you are a severe grinder, you might have lost some vertical dimension, meaning your grinding habits have lead your upper jaw to come close to your lower jaw. To open your bite, your dentist will need to place crown on your back teeth to raise your bite, then he/she would crown the front teeth.

Haneen Bokhadhoor, DDS. CAGS. MSD
Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology

if you can go to the KU dental school clinic, they will do veneers for FREE if you need them :p imagine saving 200KD per tooth heh

by the way I had some treatments in there, including a root canal, which a dentist in a private clinic had seen and told me that it is a real professional treatment that I got from one of the students in there. So my point is dont say they are students ..etc I mean I dunno it is up to u :p

“Q1. How much do they cost?
The cost of veneers at Bayan is 200KD/tooth”

Thats really nice! the tooth count that I have so far that needs them is 16, leave the rest, as they are hidden during my smile, thank god my teeth does show. However there is something I wanted to tell you.

If a teeth costs two hundred, then the entire set, costs 3200 KD, which is around 11 thousand american dollars, roughly the amount Ive needed to pay for my entire masters degree abroad in one of the top 150 universities globally. Or perhaps one and a half year worth of an apartment rented within kuwait. I am guessing extra costs might raise it to 4000 kd, which is the price of 8 years of vacationing, given that I will have 2 major holidays a year. Or maybe the Mahar bonus ontop of the government allowance to bring a smile on my fiance’s face. It is a huge price to pay, but if you can fart out coins, then you can be my guest and get the first layer removed and replaced by a fake coating for cosmetic or even protective purposes like they claim.

Again, kindly note that the prices of veneers in all dental clinics in kuwait are fairly similar. Now for the lumineers please keep in mind that bayan dental was the first to adopt and bring this service\product in kuwait; and that they are shipped to the US:)and to clarify a point they are not intended for protection they are purely a cosmetic procedure:)thankyou

I want strong teeth so i can withstand some hard punches..what should i do???…and BTW many people have told me that you have to go to the dentist so he designs a special mouthpiece according to ur teeth’s strenght..is hat true???and how much will it cost???

Dudes this big hype of veneers in Kuwait recently is something I don’t understand!!! It’s been in the US forever and so many people have done it and my understanding is that it is cemented or glued with some type of dental adhesive or a bonding agent made of filled and unfilled resin. Now this resin is resorpable in the oral cavity after few years which means the interface or the margin between the drilled tooth and the veneer actually resorps (wears down) and leaks all kinds of micro-organisms from your mouth. Don’t be surprised if after let’s say 5 years you will have a really bad front tooth ache and you visit the dentist and they suggest a root canal and a crown which will be more costly than just the veneers. Been there, done that! Plus don’t get annoyed when you’re on your vacation and you are enjoying a beautiful day eating healthy food (apple) and “click!” ,, one of those veneers comes out and you spend the rest of your vacation trying to glue it again and you will be lucky to find someone who would do it.
Sorry guys to disappoint you but if you check on guarantees of these veneers , no dentist will give you more than 6 months!! then you have to redo it, why? because they are not durable nor efficient, and remember “been there, done that!”
best of luck!

I would also question the long term effect of veneers on the gums. That is the gums naturally recede as you age and may form bigger gap. Plus the veneer material may cause more than normal recession. I don’t have veneers but I’ve had a crown for a long time due to a busted tooth playing ice hockey as a child. And I’ve had three gum surgeries including grafting to fill in the recession. So don’t take gum recession lightly.

Glad you had a better experience at Bayan than I did (see my Twitter for their receptionist’s rudeness!)- I have since gone back to the clinic I went to for years in Kuwait and am delighted with the temporary facing they did on the tooth BROKEN by Bayan- hoping to have a white white smile very soon- damn the expense!! Keep smiling!

Hi Mark.Is a long time since you did the veneers.Please tell me,what is the conditions of the veneers after 8 years?I am planing to do it but i am a little scared of what may happent to it in the future.Thank u

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