Achieving Good Dental Health Can Be Easier than You Think

Four Things To Consider Before Getting Veneers In Your 20S

When you're in your 20s, appearing well-groomed and stylish is pretty important. You want to look put-together for job interviews, and appealing to prospective dating partners when you go out socially. If your teeth are crooked, discolored, or otherwise imperfect, you may be considering having them covered up with veneers as a way to improve your overall appearance. While veneers can be a good solution for some 20-somethings who want to improve their smiles, they are not always the right answer for everyone. Here are a few factors to consider before you sit down in that dental chair.

There are some dietary restrictions to follow if you want to keep your veneers looking good.

Day-to-day, living with veneers does not present a lot of challenges. You'll get used to them pretty quickly and rarely think about them. That is -- unless you are a lover of coffee, red wine, cola, or other dark-colored liquids. These liquids can stain your veneers, so you'll need to stay away from them. You'll also want to avoid really hard and crunchy foods, since you may crack your veneers. If giving up your coffee or red wine habit sounds like an unreasonable task at this busy point in your young life, you may want to reconsider getting veneers -- or at least wait until you have more willpower to nix these foods or beverages from your diet.

You will have to keep veneers on for the rest of your life.

As someone in your 20s, you have decades of life ahead of you. It's important that, when making any medical or dental decision, you think not only about your current needs, but also about your needs and desires in the future. If you have veneers applied to your teeth now, you will have to keep them for the rest of your life, since some enamel has to be removed from your teeth to apply them. Are you certain that you want to have a veneered smile when you're 40? When you're 60? Do you want the responsibility of caring for your veneered teeth and having your veneers replaced and repaired as needed for the rest of your life?

If you're certain that the future you will also be willing to put in the money and effort associated with veneers in order to have that perfect smile, then go ahead and get your veneers. On the other hand, if this long-term commitment makes you nervous, you may be better off waiting or exploring other tooth-improvement options, such as cosmetic whitening or tooth straightening with invisible aligners.

You may not always have dental insurance that covers veneer replacements and repairs.

If you're lucky enough to have a dental insurance policy that covers cosmetic procedures like veneers, then you're probably leaning towards taking advantage of this plan and getting veneers while they're covered. Keep in mind, however, that the initial application is not necessarily the only expense associated with veneers. If you chip one down the line, or if yours start yellowing with age, you'll need to have them replaced.

You're young now, and chances are good that you will be switching jobs and insurance policies several times over the next few decades -- and chances are, most won't cover veneer-related costs because they'll be considered cosmetic. You can buy cosmetic dental insurance as a separate rider, but this can be costly, too.  Make sure you're ready for the financial commitment involved before making this move.

There are other options that actually fix your teeth, rather than cover them up.

Veneers don't solve the problems with your teeth -- they just cover them up. No matter why you're getting veneers, there's probably another way to address it. For instance, you can have yellowed teeth professionally whitened. You can have a chipped tooth bonded/repaired. Crooked teeth can be straightened -- there are now methods like invisible aligners that allow you to do so without having an unsightly metal mouth for years. Since you're young, seeking a permanent fix for the problem rather than covering it up may be worthwhile, especially considering that crooked and chipped teeth can get worse later in life if not addressed.

If you're willing to steer clear of certain foods, commit financially to some maintenance, and know that you'll be wearing veneers for as long as your teeth stay in your mouth, then they and cosmetic dentistry may be a good option for achieving a confident and radiant smile. Otherwise, looking into ways to actually fix your teeth, rather than just mask them, may be wise.


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