When Repairs Are Necessary

Cracks and holes in your teeth need to be repaired. Teeth cannot be open to the oral environment and be safe because bacteria can enter into the harder component. The harder component is on the outside—the M&M with the harder enamel shell—and then the soft chocolate on the inside is the dentin, and it’s a more damageable component of your teeth that bacteria can eat just like they’re eating a tub of ice cream. We don’t want that. And so cracks, stuff like that that are open to the tooth structure or the dentin need to be repaired.

If there are cracks in the enamel, that’s us just getting old, just like when we bend down and our knees crack. That kind of stuff is okay if you can bear with it aesthetically.

The Veneer Approach

Now, some people move towards veneers, but I’m a holistic dentist and less is more and conservativeness is very important. I don’t feel like I’m going to get a surgery on my arm just to look a lot better on my elbow. And so I can make your teeth a lot prettier without tearing down your teeth to put a veneer on.

A veneer is what we call a jacket that covers the tooth almost like a crown. Now, we talked about crowns in another question and we said you only do a crown when two-thirds of your tooth is damaged. If your tooth is healthy and there’s nothing wrong with it except for the color of it or if you see a little crack right here, I can get rid of that without having to do a hat or a jacket over your tooth. I can bleach it out. I can use this component called Icon infiltration, which is where we put white colored filling material in the dental tubules or holes of your teeth to prevent colors, different colors.

Icon resin infiltration is a minimally invasive treatment option. This procedure infiltrates demineralized enamel with resin without drilling or anesthesia, and is much less invasive and less expensive than alternatives like fillings or veneers(Icon Resin Infiltration (ICON) | Affiliated Children’s Dental Specialists).

A Real Patient Example

I had a patient named Karen and she came in and she had a dark black spot right there on her tooth. I think it just didn’t develop right and somehow when she was a child it didn’t mineralize right and we did that Icon infiltration and totally dissolved that dark color on her tooth and she’s going around smiling now and we didn’t do a veneer to cover the tooth.

So, I think people who get veneers are those that can’t wait for more conservative methods. I had to do Karen three or four times to get that result. So, she did have to come in three or four times. A veneer can be done in 45 minutes and then you have a covering on your tooth that looks beautiful.

The trade-off between these approaches is significant. Composite bonding involves minimal tooth preparation with just slight surface roughening, while veneers require removing about 0.5mm of tooth enamel to create space for proper fit(Composite bonding versus veneers – key differences).

Why Conservative Is Better

I think a lot of movie stars lean towards veneers because sometimes they have crooked teeth, but again, I’m a holistic dentist and I think it’s more conservative to move your teeth via Invisalign or an aligner tray that would move your teeth so that they’re not so crooked. But you’d have to wait three or four months instead of maybe 45 minutes to get your teeth a little bit healthier, and get the same aesthetic result, but not tear down the strong structure of enamel that’s on the outside of the tooth.

This caution about enamel removal is well-founded. The process of getting veneers is irreversible because enamel is removed from natural teeth to ensure proper fit, and once enamel is gone, it doesn’t regenerate(Are Veneers Permanent or Removable Solution?).

The Bottom Line on Treatment Choice

The key difference comes down to this: veneers are fast and dramatic, but they require removing healthy tooth structure. Conservative treatments like Icon infiltration, bonding, or orthodontics take longer but preserve your natural enamel—the strongest substance in your body.

As a holistic dentist, I believe in doing the least invasive treatment that will achieve your goals. Your natural tooth structure is precious. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. So before jumping to veneers, let’s explore whether we can get you the smile you want while keeping as much of your natural tooth as possible. In most cases, we can—it just requires a little more patience and a commitment to the process.