Trouble with Veneers

[BNinAZ]

My boyfriend has had his veneers for about 10 years now and he is having problems with his speech.  When he says certain words his top veneers hit his botttom real teeth.  This has made him very depressed and he tries not to talk because of this problem, and he has alot of jaw pain. He has had his veneers shaved down several times and nothing helps. Any suggestions??? Would speech therapy help?? Or does he need new veneers???

[stevet927]

A related discussion, Facial swelling after getting veneers was started.

[funkynina]

BNinAZ- I think he may need to see a prosthodontist. I agree with what the dentist b/4 me said. There are so many things to consider. How long this has been going on does make a difference. I do think that sometimes the teeth can be made a little bit too long and maybe you try to give your mouth time to "adjust" and so you don't know that your jaw is slipping back into an uncomfortable place until they are very sore and firing off. It is kind of like you kind of accomidate to the new space there without even knowing you are doing it. Sometimes the teeth can be too thick and can affect the bite too. His jaw is probably so tight and tired that it is not allowing him to speek as he normally does and so the teeth are hitting the bottom teeth.  He really needs to have a x-ray to check his lower teeth in the front too. An incorrect bite can be very traumatic on those teeth. They have very narrow roots an not a lot of bone. He does not want to traumatize those teet too much b/c he won't be able to go back once the bone and/or root is affected. At this point he almost needs a hard acrylic splint to wear 24/7 (unless eating) that will allow his muscles to rest and allow his mouth to restore its correct occlusion (or where his bite was b/4 he had the veneers). Then the dentist can take impressions and bite registrations and a face bow is very important. That way the dentist can study his mouth and try to understand what is happening. I would be very careful about having them continuously shaved down. This can disturb the nerve of the tooth. Also it depends on where he is shaving from. The edge? the front? the back? or on his real teeth on the bottom? I definately think a second opinion is in your best interest just to see what someone else can share.

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

I am not sure I understand--He has had these veneers for ten years and has had trouble speaking for all these years.I would have thought that this would have been corrected as soon as it was detected.I do not know what is causing the problem nor do I know what sounds are being effected.If the veneers are the problem then I would cut them back until the speech is not affected and then make new veneers to that length.