What is the difference between a Hollywood smile and veneers?

The answer in full

A veneer is a thin shell bonded to the front face of a tooth to change its colour or shape, or to close a small chip or gap. It comes in two materials: porcelain, made in a lab to fit your tooth and bonded at a second visit, or composite, built directly onto the tooth in one sitting. It can be one tooth, or several.

A “Hollywood smile” is not the name of a dental procedure. It is a name the market gave to changing the look of the whole smile: colour, shape, alignment and the gum line, on every tooth that shows when you smile. What sits behind the name differs from clinic to clinic and from case to case: sometimes porcelain veneers on the front teeth, sometimes composite veneers, sometimes crowns on teeth that are already worn or heavily filled, sometimes whitening with a light smoothing of the edges, or a change to the gum line, and sometimes braces before any of it.

So when you ask “Hollywood smile or veneers?”, you are comparing a name with a material. The better questions are these: how many teeth need work? In which material? How much of each tooth will be trimmed? And can it be undone if you change your mind? Those four are the real difference, and they are what you hear at the examination, not what the name tells you.

The downsides first, because they decide it

Before anything about the look, these are the five things to know, because most of them do not reverse, and every extra tooth adds to their weight:

• Part of the tooth is trimmed, and it does not grow back. So the shell sits flush instead of looking bulky, in most cases a thin layer of enamel is trimmed from the tooth, and that layer never returns. One trimmed tooth needs a veneer or a crown for the rest of its life, and a full smile means every one of those teeth is now in that position. With composite the trimming is often less, or none; with porcelain, only some cases can be done without it, and the examination decides.
• Sensitivity afterwards. When the enamel is thinner, the tooth can feel the cold for a while. It usually settles, sometimes it lingers, and if it does not settle you call. The more teeth are done, the higher the chance that one of them stays sensitive.
• It chips and it stains, and composite does both sooner. A veneer stands up to normal eating, not to seed shells, ice, opening packets with your teeth, or a jaw that grinds through the night. Composite chips and discolours sooner than porcelain, especially with coffee, tea and smoking, though when a piece breaks off it can often be repaired on the tooth. Porcelain, if it breaks, is usually replaced.
• The gums. Every shell has an edge next to the gum. If that edge is not fitted well, or is not cleaned every day, tartar collects on it, the gum can get inflamed and recede, and the edge or a dark line begins to show. With a full smile, you have as many edges as you have veneers.
• The bite. When the shape of all the front teeth changes, the way your teeth meet changes with it. If the bite is not checked and adjusted first, the pressure lands on one veneer more than the others, and that is the one that breaks first.

The full list of downsides, and when a veneer is not the answer at all, is in The downsides of veneers, before you decide. What makes any shell last and what shortens its life is in What makes veneers last, and what shortens their life.

What actually differs between the two

Let’s go through the four things that actually make the difference:

• How many teeth. A veneer on one chipped or darkened tooth is limited work: one shell, one edge, one tooth to look after. A full smile takes in every tooth that shows, sometimes on both jaws. Every extra tooth usually means more trimming, another edge at the gum, one more thing that can chip or stain, and more follow-up. The number is not just a number of teeth. It is a number of responsibilities.
• The material. Porcelain is made in a lab and bonded at a second visit; composite is usually built on the tooth in the same sitting. Porcelain resists stains more and keeps its gloss longer; composite is easier to repair but stains and chips sooner. Neither is “the right one” by name. The right one is whichever suits your tooth, your bite and your habits.
• How much of the tooth is trimmed. This is the most important one, and the one people ask about least. Whitening trims nothing. Composite often needs less trimming, or none. Porcelain veneers, in most cases, need a thin layer taken from the face of the tooth. A crown trims the tooth on every side. So when someone says “Hollywood smile”, ask which of those it is, because the difference between them is the difference between a tooth that stays your tooth and a tooth that will need covering for the rest of its life.
• Whether it can be undone. Whitening fades over time and is repeated. Composite placed without trimming can be removed, but removing it is careful work and can take a little enamel with it, so the tooth does not go back exactly to how it was. But any veneer or crown on a tooth that has been trimmed does not go back to how it was; if it chips or stains, it is replaced with another, not simply taken off.

Composite or porcelain: the question hiding behind the name

The same name is used for composite work and for porcelain work alike, so the first question is the material. Composite is not wrong in itself. It is a material with its place, and it suits many people. But you should know which of the two you are getting, because the two differ in how long they last, how they stain, how they are repaired, and how much of the tooth is trimmed. And you should know how much will be trimmed from each tooth, and what happens years on when it stains or chips: is it repaired, replaced, or changed to porcelain? Those answers are what actually differ, not the name.

Questions to ask any clinic, and we are one of them

The name tells you nothing. These questions tell you everything. Ask them anywhere:

• What exactly is the material? Composite or porcelain? And if composite, is it built directly on the tooth or made in a lab?
• How many teeth, and why that number? Does every one of them really need a shell, or would some be settled by whitening or by smoothing an edge?
• How much will be trimmed from each tooth? Can any tooth be done without trimming? And what happens to the tooth if I change my mind later?
• Can I see the shape on my own teeth before it is bonded? A trial of the look before the work lets you decide with your eyes, not your imagination.
• Who does the procedure, personally? And who checks my bite and my gums first?
• What happens if one breaks? Is it repaired or replaced? And who follows me up after the work is done?

If the answer to any of these is not clear, take your time. Teeth that are trimmed do not come back, and a decision made at ease beats a decision made in a hurry. And if you are collecting answers from several clinics, or from more than one country, ask each of them the same six questions and compare the answers, not only the photos.

What to do now

If you are thinking about changing your smile, these are the steps in order:

1. 1

   Ask yourself: what exactly bothers you?The colour? Whitening may be enough, with no trimming, and the colour fades over time and is repeated. One chipped or darkened tooth? One veneer, not a whole smile. Crowded or protruding teeth? Hiding them under shells takes more trimming, and braces straighten them with far less trimming, if any. The whole look? That is where smile design comes in, and what goes into it is decided at the examination.

2. 2

   Health before cosmeticsTartar, decay, gums that bleed: all of it is treated before any shell, because a veneer over a problem stays over a problem, and hides it until it grows.

3. 3

   Mention grinding at the first visitDo you wake with a tired jaw? Has anyone told you that you grind in your sleep? Are the edges of your teeth going flat? A full smile on a jaw that grinds is at risk of breaking one shell after another, so protecting your teeth from grinding becomes part of the plan from day one.

4. 4

   Whitening first, not afterIf you want your teeth lighter, whitening comes first, and then the shade of the shells is chosen to match the new colour. Whitening changes the colour of your natural teeth and does nothing to the shell, so whiten afterwards and the veneers end up one shade and the rest another.

5. 5

   See the look before you commitWith smile design you see the expected shape on your own teeth before anything is done that cannot be undone. That is the moment you can still say “not like this”, before anything is trimmed.

6. 6

   If you are only in Amman for a stretchSay so before anything starts. Porcelain needs a second visit for bonding, a full smile may need more visits than a single tooth, and every shell needs follow-up afterwards. So the visits are planned around your dates before you commit, as far as the work allows. What cannot be planned away is the follow-up. And if you already have veneers from another clinic or another country, bring what you know about them: the material, and roughly when they were done. They can be examined here, and what can be followed up is decided at the examination.

7. 7

   Book an examinationAt the examination your teeth, gums and bite are looked at. You hear whether you need shells at all or something simpler would do, how many teeth, which material, how much would be trimmed from each tooth, and what the doctor expects for your own case. Shells wait until the teeth have fully come through and the gum around them has settled, so it is usually not for children; in special cases such as enamel defects, and in teenagers, the examination decides. Then you decide.

When to call

Shells themselves do not usually hurt, so most calls about them are not emergencies. But if you have veneers or a full smile, wherever they were done, some signs should not wait for the next check-up:

• Call this week: a veneer has chipped, a piece has broken off, it feels loose, or there is an edge you can feel with your tongue.
• Call this week: sensitivity to cold in a veneered tooth that is not settling.
• Call this week: a gum that is red or bleeds when you brush around the veneers, an edge that has started to show, or a dark line at the edge of any of them.
• Call today: a veneer has come off whole. Keep it somewhere clean and bring it with you, because in some cases the same shell goes back on. And do not try to glue it back yourself with any adhesive.
• Call today: a swelling in the gum around a veneer, especially if it is growing or comes with pain, pus or fever, or strong pain in the tooth under it.
• Call today: sensitivity to heat that is getting worse, pain that stays after the cold or heat is gone, or pain that wakes you at night.

Call and we will find you the earliest slot, and tell you what to do until you arrive. Before any painkiller, ask the doctor first, so it suits your case. If the swelling has reached your eye, or it has become hard to swallow or breathe, that is a hospital emergency, not an appointment. And if the clinic is closed and the swelling is growing or you have a high fever, go to the nearest hospital emergency department, and let us know as soon as we open. And if the pain is in another tooth with no veneer: Toothache: what to do right now.

Questions people ask