Clip on veneers

I hate writing negative articles like this. But it is my sincere opinion that ‘clip on veneers’ from online sellers are dangerous to your dental health.

Clip on veneers; you may have seen them advertised on social media and Google. These are a full set of plastic veneers that cover your teeth and give the illusion of straight, white teeth. They clip in and out so thankfully they aren’t fixed in your mouth and you can bin them.

The idea is that you pay your money and the company sends you stuff to take your own impressions. You then send these impressions to the company and they make your snazzy clip on veneers.

The problem is this. At no point have you seen a professional. No one has checked whether this is appropriate for you. No one has checked if there are any little holes in your teeth that need fixing first. Basically, no has taken the time to check that these veneers aren’t going to do your teeth harm.

I have no problem with the idea of ‘clip on veneers’. It’s not something that dentists in the UK usually provide but the idea doesn’t seem so bad.

But I have a problem with the method that these companies are using. All they care about is making a quick bit of cash. They have no regard for the overall health of their customers’ mouths.

Let’s get specific and explain the issues with the product that these companies are providing:

1. Eating is hard if not impossible. These companies claim that you can eat soft foods while wearing the veneers but I would guess it’s extremely tricky. The clip on veneers will completely change your bite. Trying to chew with them in will be more hassle than it’s worth. That means that if you go out with friends for food, you’re going to have to take your teeth out before dinner.

2. Food and drinks will be trapped against your teeth. If you do manage to eat and drink with these in, anything you eat is going to get mashed into all the little gaps around the edges. If you have a fizzy drink with these in, you are bathing your teeth in sugar. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why this is a bad idea.

3. They give you a lisp. You have to take them out to eat. They’re plastic and will get mucky quite quickly. So if you want them to last, you can’t wear them all of the time. Because you can’t wear them all of the time, you will never get used to speaking with them in and they will give you a lisp.

4. Any existing dental disease will get worse. These ‘clip on veneers’ will trap plaque, food and drink against your teeth. The combination of sugar and plaque held against your teeth will cause any decay to grow drastically.

5. This is illegal. I’m fairly sure that providing dental treatment in this way is illegal. A qualified professional hasn’t checked the health of the customer’s teeth. No one has explained the other options. And these clip on veneers are being provided by dental technicians. Dental technicians cannot legally provide an appliance like this without being instructed to do so by a dentist.

I am really sorry to be so negative. These look like a nice, quick fix to a lovely, white smile. In theory, it’s not a bad idea. However, like a lot of quick fixes, it’s a bit too god to be true.

I fell very strongly that the people running these companies are putting their profits ahead of the health of their customers. This is not acceptable. Please avoid them.

Go to our section on cosmetic dental treatments to find out how to improve your smile in a safe way.