Rylan and his new Pearly white teeth

Rylan has re-ignited an argument led by Martin Kelleher (consultant in restorative dentistry at King’s College) about the inappropriate use of Porcelain veneers and crowns.

A veneer is a glued-on facing, whereas a crown covers all the exposed tooth (front, back and sides). Normally a tooth is prepared for crowns and veneers by removing some healthy tooth structure to accommodate them. With crowns this can be up to 73%.

Veneers and crowns are the best treatment for some patients but not all. They are useful if teeth are very discoloured, broken or have had a lot of decay. The recent demand for instant straight white teeth has led to perfectly healthy teeth being reduced down.

I liked Rylan’s teeth before he had this treatment. They were a little out of line but were a little quirky and had some character. Orthodontics and tooth whitening (or some ‘bonding’ – adding white filling material) could have given him natural straight white teeth if that was what he wanted. In addition his teeth would have still been healthy and should have lasted a lifetime.

Instead Rylan opted for a very un-natural look, which undoubtedly has been achieved by aggressively reducing down his natural healthy teeth.

Research suggests that around half of veneers are no longer in place, require further treatment or are in a poor condition after 10 years. So prepare yourself for more changes in Rylan’s smile in the future as he goes through subsequent sets.