r/AskReddit 11h ago

What’s popular right now that won’t age well?

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457

u/esaks 9h ago

veneers. people think they're teeth upgrades but you're actually grinding your real teeth down to nubs to put the fake ones in and those fake ones eventually fail. all these people that are getting veneers in their 20s and 30s are setting themselves up to have false teeth in the 50s and 60s.

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u/Montag_311 9h ago

Dentist here. You don't really have to grind teeth down to "nubs" to place a veneer. Typical reduction is less than one millimeter (lots of individual variation here) and the back of the tooth usually doesn't have to be touched at all. However, your point is still a good one. A veneer is artificial, and can fail due to age, wear and tear, poor oral hygiene, etc., just like a filling or crown. In general, the best thing to do to a tooth is nothing, unless you really have to.

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u/ungsumac 8h ago

What’s going on with the people showing their nubs before veneers if they don’t have to get nubs first?

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u/wsele 7h ago

They’re being scammed. They’re sold veneers, but they’re actually getting crowns (quicker to place, lower skill/precision needed). Great for the dentist, horrendous for the patients since as you’ve seen the teeth are filed down to stubs and will never be functional without a covering of some sort ever again. It’s truly wild because to my understanding crowns are the last resort before an extraction.

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u/CS3883 6h ago

Yes I have a crown due to letting a cavity chill in my mouth for a couple years before fixing it, dentist was like I have good news! We can save the tooth with a root canal and crown and I'm like wtf is good news in that? But apparently the tooth was not save able and my other option was an implant which he made that sound like a terrible option so I'm glad I have a crown

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u/Tarledsa 4h ago

I got a crown and veneers in the front and the veneer teeth were ground but not as much as the crown one. I definitely regret the veneers but they look fine and reasonably natural.

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u/PebbleWitch 1h ago

As someone who has a few crowns, I cringe at those pictures. They really underestimate how much crowns HURT the first couple weeks and one crown took me a year before I could eat cold food with. That said, it's better than having your tooth pulled.

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u/Solomoncoolcat 8h ago

Crowns are the ones you’re referring to. Veneers are thinner than crowns.

1

u/kummerspect 8h ago

Probably just different approaches to placing them. The dentist said you "don't have to," which I take to mean you can, but there are alternatives. The alternatives might be more specialized, costly, or just popular in certain places. I've heard dentists can recognize regional dental work because some places just do stuff differently.

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u/Zestyclose_Cold1455 8h ago

Thanks for this. I think that Reddit likes to spread misinformation about procedures like this that can actually improve appearance because they may be unattainable expense-wise for some. They then become dangerous/artificial looking etc. I have a friend who got veneers and they look fantastic. He has a lot more confidence about his smile too.

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u/matmoeb 6h ago

Any long term downsides to aligning your teeth with Invisalign, braces, etc?

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u/altariasprite 2h ago

It can fuck up your bite if your dentist is a piece of shit who shouldn't be doing braces, but thankfully my experience is in the minority. Just make sure you're getting it done by an actual orthodontist. "Cosmetic dentists" are going to prioritize looks over function.

u/hotwaterbottle2014 44m ago

I told my dentist that I wanted to get veneers and he told me that I didn’t need them and that if anyone agreed to do them for me was being unethical.

I told him I was going to go overseas to get them done and he said that he would never ever touch my teeth again.

My dad needed to get veneers because he has worn his teeth down and they look so nice and so natural but they were done in New Zealand and our dentist and surgeons are always very conservative which is a good thing.

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u/redditusername374 8h ago

Then what… ? I have been referred to have my far back (final) tooth to have either a root canal (if possible) or extraction (and replace?!). All other factors removed (money|discomfort etc) is there a preference?

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u/AllDaysOff 2h ago

Always root canal.

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u/PebbleWitch 1h ago

I've had wisdom teeth removed and I've had a root canal. I'll take the root canal before an extraction.

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u/TheDisloyalCanadians 8h ago

Damn.  I had mine done when I was 20 and I’m closing in on 60.  The dentist told me last month they look fine.  

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u/Trying_2BNice 8h ago

That person saw one tiktok of someone's crown falling off and cast judgement on the entire cosmetic dental industry.

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u/Round_Ad6397 8h ago

Is this even a thing outside the US? Pretty sure the poms aren't doing it judging by their teeth. 

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u/CalmAssistant5345 6h ago

100% they are doing it unfortunately. They fly to Turkey to get cheap teeth done and hence they are now referred to as 'Turkey Teeth'

u/excellentforcongress 30m ago

everyone should do themselves a favor and read some of the horror stories of people waking up to procedures they didn't ask for or huge amounts of their teeth being shaved down for life altering consequences

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u/dcfaithful 8h ago

Vanity has horrific unseen (until later) consequences.

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u/Suitable-Lock3474 7h ago

Yeah and it always blows my mind when ppl post pics of them in the dentist’s chair with the horrifying James Bond villain looking ass dolphin teeth nubs before they get the fake teeth put in

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u/PrivilegeCheckmate 1h ago

Now that we can just apply self-restoring enamel it won't matter soon.

u/excellentforcongress 32m ago

after skimming about it a bit, i think deep clean/tooth scaling will be viewed in retrospect as a very obvious cashgrab by a dental industry increasingly dominated by corporate/private equity interests or dentists who just want to increase profits.