Veneer help

[smas]

Hi
I am new here so hopefully posted in the right place...

When I was a lot younger I needed a brace on my top teeth which was removable but was fitted too tight and caused me to have ridges on all 6 of my front top teeth. The dentist suggested fitting veneers and given my teeth didn't look great I obviously went with this.
My teeth were filed down and veneers placed on them and the tooth built up at back. That was around 20 years ago and my veneers have started to move slightly and look very dull. My dentist has suggested replacing with new ones with gold underlay to ensure they look as similar in colour to my own teeth.

The issue I have is that when I had the work done, the dentist never told me that they were only a temporary fix. (I guess I have been lucky up to now) I just wonder when I come to have them replaced which is probably going to be soon, do you think this is something that would be done on the NHS or am I better to go private? My dentist is not NHS but independent which not sure if this makes a difference?

Any help or advice would be great.

[Dr Pav Khaira]

I can understand your concerns. I'd say that 20 years for veneers is an excellent success rate! Veneers, no matter how well they are done, need replacing periodically.

The NHS will not pay for cosmetic work. Your dentist may be able to provide this privately for you, but you should insist on seeing examples of his or her veneer work so you can see what they are capable of achieving. If your dentist does this type of work often they should be abe to show you several cases

Veneers can be made very cheap but those ones look terrible. Quality veneers are indistinguishable from natural teeth and will last a very long time.

If your dentist is considering putting gold under the veneers, it is likely he/she is considering crowning them as opposed to veneering them.

I hope this answers your questions

Kindest regards