I’ve had 10 porcelain veneers made. When he put in the temporary veneers, everything felt fine. However, since getting the permanent veneers I’ve had trouble speaking. Do you have a recommendation for me? My dentist can’t figure out what’s going on.
Lisa Anne
Dear Lisa Anne,

Something is off in what you’re explaining to me. I wish I had an image of your smile makeover to get a better idea of what is going on. However, I can give you some general directions on what is typical in this type of situation.
Generally, when people talk about a smile makeover affecting their speech pattern it’s because their dentist did porcelain crowns instead of porcelain veneers for their makeover. The reason that causes more problems is that porcelain veneers are only on the fronts of our teeth and crowns cover the entire surface area, giving more direction to the tongue.
My guess is you went to a beloved family dentist to have your smile makeover done. While he may have some training in porcelain veneers, expert cosmetic dentists are trained in the effect of the teeth on speech and will be careful about the contours of both crowns and veneers, to ensure they don’t negatively affect your tongue.
Many parts of both crowns and veneers affect the pronunciation of letters. For crowns, their thickness on the lingual surfaces (what patients call the back) will affect the pronunciation of certain letters. For both crowns and veneers, the length of the front teeth and the positions of the incisal edges affect other letters. Even the height of your back teeth will affect your speech.
Sometimes it is just a matter of your teeth have a new shape your tongue is not used to and within a few weeks, it has adjusted to the new shape and forms sounds perfectly again.
If the Porcelain Veneers Continue to Affect Your Speech
If you go a month and your speech hasn’t adjusted, you’ll need to insist your dentist fix this. Now you’ve mentioned he’s tried and doesn’t know what to do. In that case, tell him you’d either like a refund and start over with a cosmetic dentist with more expertise, or ask him to cover the cost of repairs with another test.
If you need to find another dentist to fix this or start from scratch, I’m going to recommend you see an expert cosmetic dentist. Ideally, you’d want a dentist who has reached accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists are at the top of their field and will give you both a beautiful and functional smile. You can look up ones in your area on aacd.com.
This blog is brought to you by Des Moines Dentist Dr. Phelan Thomas.