Age For Dental Porcelain Veneers?

Question

Hi, I've heard that you need to be a certain age (whenever your bones stop growing) to get veneers. If you're a dentist, can you tell me what age would be good to get them? Is 16 ok? Thanks

Answer 1

Believe it or not, your tooth position is not really settled until late teens and maybe not even until you are 20-21 or so. It's very individual. If you have porcelain veneers done to young, the edge near the gum will show in a couple of years. If you are not changing the shade of your teeth with veneers, this might not matter, but if you are trying to make your teeth lighter with veneers, then you will have a dark zone near your gums that you will not like.

If money's no object, get them done whenever you want and plan on replacing them in a few years if you don't like the way they look any more. Otherwise, try to wait a few more years.

My own daughter wanted porcelain veneers when she was 14 or 15. I made her wait until she was 16 and even then, we used bonding material to hold her over until her mid-twenties. She still has the bonding material and is very happy with it, so we hav not yet replaced them with porcelain.

Answer 2

I'm not a dentist...but I have veneers and was told that I too had to wait until a certain age...however..that age varies by person. Talk to your dentist about it - I'm going to guess that at 16 you're still too young, I had mine done at 21.

Answer 3

cosmetic procedures are reserved for adults except in the most severe cases. part of the problem is that kids don't take care of their teeth as well as adults. the last thing i want is for $10,000 worth of work to go bad in 5 years and have a pissed off patient. also, over the next few years you may decide that you don't mind your teeth as much and don't want it done. things change when you grow up sometimes.

Answer 4

Probably have to be 18. Once you get them, they are hard to maintain. You have to go back to the dentist every few years and spend more money.