Some people may look at their teeth in the mirror and not like what they see. The next question they ask themselves is this: do I need Invisalign or should I just get veneers? Or both? Sometimes the answer isn’t always so obvious.

My most recent instagram post highlights a case where a patient of mine at Smile Pop underwent Invisalign treatment to align her teeth and improve her smile first and then got veneers. We chose veneers because we knew her smile wasn’t going to be as perfect as we wanted it to be. That’s where veneers helped complete the case.

At her initial orthodontic consultation with me, a board certified orthodontist practicing in New York City, we knew she did not have the most ideal size and shape of teeth. This meant veneers, or a similar type of dental restoration like bondings, were a possibility for her. Thus, we had to treatment plan knowing that veneers could be in her future. So what does that mean – “treatment plan knowing that veneers could be in her future?” Well, take a look.

Here’s her teeth after the Invisalign treatment. You can see how her incisor embrasures are not symmetrical on both sides even though orthodontically we tried to make them as symmetric as possible. This asymmetry is an anatomy issue of the tooth and not something you can fully fix orthodontically – that’s where veneers come in.

Ideally shaped teeth have correct “golden proportions” – individually and as whole. The individual teeth should be taller than they are wide and the left and right sides of the smile should be symmetric. If you don’t have ideal tooth proportions, this can be eye catching and take away from the overall beauty of a smile. Sometimes you are born lucky and Invisalign plus a little tooth reshaping of your natural teeth is enough to re-establish that ideal proportion. But when you’re not so lucky, veneers are a good option when someone’s teeth lack this proportion because the proportion can be re-established with porcelain veneers.

Veneers are also helpful to reestablish the proper margins of the gingival tissues. Gingival tissues, also known as gums, should be symmetric on both sides of the smile, too. The gum tissues on both the central incisors (the two front teeth) and canine teeth (the vampire-like fang teeth) should have the highest gingival margins. The lateral incisor gum tissues should be about 0.5 mm shorter than those. If you don’t naturally have this, sometimes gingival reshaping can be done via a gingivectomy. But sometimes veneers can be the right solution, too.

Before and after veneers. Notice the improvement of shape and symmetry of both the gingival margins and incisal embrasures. This is something Invisalign alone could not have corrected.

A lot of intricacies go into creating the most perfect, beautiful smile. Whether veneers are the right solution for you or not, ideally you’d want an orthodontist involved to make sure you have the proper foundation and bite first before going down that road. Not sure if veneers are the right thing for you? Come on in for an orthodontic consultation. Booking is easy and as always, the appointments are complimentary!