Do Veneers Make Your Teeth More Sensitive?
Before you opt to have veneers on your teeth, you should investigate the pros and cons of the procedure. While veneers do come with cosmetic benefits, they may also have negative effects. For example, veneers may increase your teeth's sensitivity, making it uncomfortable to eat or drink very hot or cold things. Why does this happen and how much of a problem will it be for you?
How Veneers Affect Tooth Sensitivity
Your dentist doesn't typically just stick a veneer on the top of your tooth without preparing the surface. The procedure may involve removing some of the surface of the tooth and some of its enamel to shave the tooth down a little to allow the veneer to sit naturally.
Your enamel helps protect your teeth and, if some is removed, you may lose some of the protection the enamel gives against extremes in temperature. If all of the enamel isn't there, a tooth with a veneer may become more sensitive to heat and cold.
Do Veneers Always Make Teeth More Sensitive?
Veneers don't affect every person in the same way. After all, if they made everyone's teeth unbearably sensitive, people would stop having them fitted.
Some people don't report any additional sensitivity after a veneer. According to Colgate, those that do have problems may find that the sensitivity wears off over a few days or a couple of weeks once the veneers settle down. Even if you do have longer-term problems, you may find that these are manageable if you use a toothpaste for sensitive teeth.
Will Veneers Affect Your Teeth's Sensitivity?
Although your dentist can advise you on potential sensitivity issues from veneers, you won't normally be able to get a concrete answer on whether your teeth will become more sensitive after the procedure or not. Typically, you'll only find this out once you've had the veneer put in place.
The exception may be if you already have sensitive teeth that are causing you problems. In this case, you should talk through your existing sensitivity issues with your dentist before having any veneer work done. If you are having problems now, your dentist may advise against veneers to avoid the risk of increasing your sensitivity levels even more.
Tip: Some veneers don't require as much work on the tooth as others. If you're worried about permanently changing the surface of a tooth to fit a veneer and the possible impact this might have on your sensitivity, ask your dentist if your teeth are suitable for a less invasive procedure that removes less of the tooth's surface.
