TikTok teens warned against veneers and shaving their teeth

27 November 2020, 14:54

By Jazmin Duribe

Guys, shaving down your teeth is NOT the answer.

There's a terrifying trend on TikTok of people showing off the preparation their teeth undergoes before veneers are applied.

In case you didn't know, veneers are a thin layer of porcelain that are placed over your natural teeth to give them a whiter and more uniform appearance. It's super expensive but they can last up to 15 years with the proper care.

Before, veneers were something that only celebs or the super rich had but now more and more young people are opting for cosmetic dentistry, even travelling abroad to places like Turkey to cut the cost.

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Now people have started the "veneers check" trend on TikTok, showing off their teeth being shaved down to tiny pegs, or shark-like teeth, during the treatment and the results after.

However, dentists on TikTok are now warning against getting veneers that require your teeth to be shaved down to little stubs. Dr Shaadi Manouchehri has been warning against the procedure which could leave you with a whole host of issues.

Using an example of someone's teeth on TikTok, she said: "Shaving teeth down to pegs like that is going to damage the nerve and you're going to need a root canal treatment and an extraction at some point in your life.

"Second point, veneers or crowns will need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years typically. She is going to need to replace them probably four or five times throughout her lifetime if not more. Not only the financial burden is gonna be an issue, secondly it's gonna be a biological burden because the tooth physically can't be prepared and re-prepared every single time.

"So, she's a gorgeous young lady and she's ruined her teeth, possibly for the rest of her life, and she's gonna have dentures by the age of 40. I personally wouldn't choose that, would you?" Yikes.

Another dentist on TikTok, Dr. Emi Mowson, used former model Katie Price as an example. Now you've probably seen the haunting images of Katie's teeth before having new veneers fitted in Turkey which shocked the internet. Katie documented the process on her YouTube channel, and said: "No pain, no gain, if you wanna get your teeth done, you have to look like that."

Dr Emi warned that there's actually no need to shave your teeth down that much and once you do there's no going back. "These are not veneers. These are crown preparations and there's a big difference," she explained.

"As long as your teeth are aligned, veneers require minimal to no preparation whatsoever. Veneers are much less destructive to the teeth. Once your teeth are down to stumps there is no going back. I beg you, if you're looking to get cosmetic dental treatment, find a reputable minimally invasive dentist."

So there you have it kids: you have been warned.