One Year Update: Veneers in Turkey

I can’t believe it has been one year since I finished the process to get my veneers done in Antalya, Turkey. I also can’t believe that on this day a year ago I was on a beach enjoying my brand new teeth and today I am sitting at a desk with my damn mask on unable to go anywhere. Awful, stupid Corona.

This is my one year update on what having my new veneers has been like.

Here is a summary of this post: IT’S BEEN AWESOME. I REGRET NOTHING

For the amount of bullshit commentary I received before I went, while I was getting done and afterwards – I finally began to realize it was people projecting their own fears of medical tourism that led them to saying that nonsense. You’re afraid to venture into the unknown, so the rest of us should be afraid as well right? Yeah, no chance.

Prior to going and getting my teeth done I wrote a post letting people know I’d be going and all the planning that went into that. You can read that here.

I was so nervous then, well prepared, but nervous.

Then I got to Turkey and got through the whole process just fine, and I also wrote a recap about that here.

One year later, I knew I’d want to write an update on how having nice teeth has been.

Well first of all, let’s discuss the cons of having veneers.

I really miss chewing on bones when I eat certain meats. Examples: chicken wings, oxtail, pigtail etc. Now I can only eat the meat surrounding the bone, and even then I have to be pretty careful at the way I bite so I don’t bite the actual bone. The teeth are definitely strong enough to withstand it, but I’m not taking chances.

The second thing I notice myself missing is being able to open things with my teeth. I’m sure we all get into situations when there’s a bag that needs to be opened with no scissors in sight. No more using my teeth to rip that stuff open, can’t risk the damage. (with Corona happening, this is probably for the better anyways)

I catch myself drinking ice and then wanting to chew it, but I stop ASAP and just let it melt in my mouth or spit it out. Can’t chip veneers on no damn ice cubes just because I felt like chewing those. Not worth it.

That really is about is for the cons.

Now the PROS of having veneers? I love it all.

My whole demeanor and facial expressions have changed since I finally have nice teeth. I find myself smiling more at people, with people and in photos and videos I’m totally unfazed. There is no need to ever retake a photo, because in that first shot my smile was perfecttttttt. That makes me feel so damn good.

The adjustment after getting the veneers was a little odd because I assumed anything I bit into would have my teeth fall out or something. I was obviously very wrong and it was just in my mind. I eat everything pretty much the same.

Having to wear a mask when you have new teeth that you want to show off all the time has slightly diminished my shenanigans, but I think folks know I’m smiling at them underneath.

A big pro veneers have for me is I no longer bite my nails. I thought this habit would be really hard to break for me because I had been doing it since I was young, but it was shockingly easy? I think once my body figured out you actually can’t bite the damn nail with veneers, it was like ‘no, I need something else, this sucks‘ – and I stopped biting them cold turkey.

I recently went for a dental check up here in Toronto and the dentist said my teeth were great and it was probably the quickest cleaning I’ve ever had. 1) things don’t stick to veneers as easily as your regular teeth and 2) once you have veneers you upkeep them waaaay better than your actual teeth, or, well, that is true for me.

Maintaining the teeth is all the time for me. I don’t go anywhere without my dental floss and I no longer chew gum, I just put in one of those Listerine thingys that dissolve in your mouth. This has lead to my gums and overall dental hygiene being way better than it was before. I have to protect my investment right? This had lead to my gums bleeding less and also being less sensitive. I wasn’t too sure if this was from when they lasered them for the placement of veneers or if it was because of my new rigid upkeep, but I’m happy at the outcome either way. I invested in a WaterPik for cleaning my veneers because some floss couldn’t fit between the crevices of the new teeth. Also, there are some very tiny spaces (still) between the veneer and your actual tooth and you want to make sure that is kept super clean. If the lifespan of veneers is 15-years, I’m making sure mine go the distance with proper maintenance.

The adjustment to wearing a mouth guard while sleeping wasn’t too radical either. I’m someone who clenches their jaw when they sleep and also grind my teeth and a dental guard while sleeping was necessary. I don’t even notice it anymore, it just makes it a bit difficult to speak once you have it in. Definitely only a, ‘I’m about to knock out‘ time to wear it.

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That’s it, that’s my update.

It has been a wonderful year of all smiles, even though these masks trying to hold me back.

I wanted to end the blog post with the actual before and after photos the clinic sent me upon completion. If you needed any more convincing that this may be the route for you, these photos will do it.

• Mirna