If you are considering getting dental veneers to improve your smile, your first step should be choosing the right cosmetic dentist. When applied correctly, dental veneers can improve the shape and color of your smile. However, a poor application can cause a lisp and can even change the orientation of your bite. If your dental veneers are causing a lisp, the veneers need to be corrected.
Many dentists are skilled at performing day-to-day procedures like crowns or fillings, but applying veneers is different. Since veneers are typically applied for cosmetic purposes rather than medical purposes, they require someone skilled in cosmetic dentistry. Veneers can be complicated to apply, and not all dentists are skilled in the application process.
Prior to applying porcelain veneers, Dr. Aller will do everything possible to make sure that they will fit correctly. This may include creating a mock-up of the veneers for you to try beforehand. In other instances, we may create a model using computer imaging software after scanning your teeth, or a wax model that you can try on before having the real veneers made. By testing the models beforehand, you should be able to tell that the veneers will be the right length and thickness before having them permanently applied.
Common causes of dental veneers causing a lisp
- The veneers were too long when applied
- The veneers were too thick and started catching your tongue
- A model was not created beforehand to ensure the perfect fit
- The veneers were applied incorrectly and started to crack or flake off
Dental veneers that are the wrong length or thickness can cause a lisp even if you did not previously have one. If the veneers are too long, the tongue can catch on them while you’re speaking, and that can create the lisp. If the veneers are significantly too long, they can even throw off your bite and make it harder to chew correctly. Having an unaligned bite can cause a host of other problems as well.
At Miracle Smile, we often see correction cases where another dental office has created issues with our patient’s dentition. If you find that your tongue is catching on the back of your teeth rather than the top, the previous dentist may have actually applied crowns instead of veneers. This could pose a bigger problem because crowns wrap around the whole tooth while veneers only cover the front of the tooth. If that is the case, you should consider switching dentists immediately.
No matter the methods, your dentist’s top priority should be ensuring that you get the outcome that you want. If you’re not happy with your smile, they should not be happy with it either. If your dentist seems disinterested or blows off your calls, you have selected the wrong dentist. Likewise, if you have already gone through the application process and your dental veneers are causing a lisp, you have selected the wrong dentist. At that point, it’s best to switch to a qualified cosmetic dentist to have your veneers re-applied. Miracle Smile specializes in the appearance of your smile, and we’re here to help – if you have any questions, we invite you to call or email at any time.