Lumineers are a type of dental veneer that is put forth as an alternative to composite and traditional ceramic veneers. It was created by a company called Den-Mat and utilizes a material called Cerinate porcelain. These veneers are often touted as a much faster, less painful, and less risky alternative to more traditional types of veneer for a number of reasons. For one thing they don’t (usually) require that the teeth be extensively drilled and shaved down before being installed, as is the case with ordinary veneers. Thus they don’t usually require anesthesia. They are also reversible – the dentist can take them off quite easily. Thirdly, though this is primarily a cosmetic procedure, Lumineers possess at least some orthodontic value – working to straighten crooked teeth at the same time that they hide them The sales pitch says that they can be installed in two visits with a minimum of discomfort and in-office time.
While there may be some truth to these claims, Lumineers have a somewhat mixed reputation. They are liked very much by some and abhorred by others. In fact there are some fairly extreme complaints and against the method and good reasons behind them.
To be fair I’ll start with a favorable account, though even in this there are some concerns and things that make you wonder: “I got Lumineers about six weeks ago. At first I hated them. They felt bulky and my speech was affected. I was actually sorry that I had gotten them and felt like I had thrown away all that money… Time has passed and I love them! I have grown accustomed to them and my speech is perfectly normal…I can honestly say that I do not regret getting the Lumineers. I can smile now without even thinking of the gaps between my front teeth!”
Unfirtunatley the above is far from being universal as a Lumineers experience. Many of the complaints talk about a number of serious drawbacks and even disastrous results from Lumineers. These include things like an exaggerated fatness, length, to the teeth, reduced gaps between teeth resulting in pressure and flossing problems, the tendency of Lumineers to “pop off” or fracture, incompetent and indifferent practitioners, biting and chewing problems, no ability to get a refund for defective Lumineers or any other customer recourse, problems with color and light reflection and others. At the very least this should tell you that Lumineers are not the panacea that they are often made out to be, and that you should consider very carefully both the product itself and the dental professional performing installation before you move ahead.
Here is a complaint from a forum poster identifying herself as Brenda92:
“DO NOT USE LUMINEERS. I had 16 Lumineers put on and most of them have chipped or fallen off. The color was inconsistent and grey and never white which is what I had requested. I had to have all of them replaced with real veneers after spending over $10,000, I had to spend another $10,000 for replacements. Lumineers are a nightmare. I wish we could get a class action suit against the company.” This more or less sets the tone and is typical of the complaints I’ve come across.
A forum poster identified as SanyBelle mentions the generally unnatural feel of her teeth after having Lumineers put on. The main positive side to this account seems to be that she will be able to have the Lumineers removed if she finds that problems too annoying: “To me, the veneers feel too close together. I can get floss between them, but it’s a chore… Because they are so close together, it constantly feels like there is food or something stuck between them. I can feel the veneers on the back of the teeth and this will not go away. Since I had these put on about 5 weeks ago, I think what I feel now I’ll always feel. But the thing about Lumineers is that the dentist did not remove any tooth structure so I think I can have them removed if I feel I can’t stand them.” That’s a great reference, hun – there’s light at the end of the tunnel since the Lumineers can be taken off.
But the above complaintsseem almost mild compared to poster S. Dove’s experience. She describes a miserable ordeal that she wishes she had never gotten involved in. She begins her Lumineers story with these words: “I will add my warning about LUMINEERS …I had 12 front teeth, 6 uppers and 6 lowers, done in early 2007. I should have realized the old adage about, ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’”
First of all she notes that though the advertising about the lack of drilling and tooth reduction is misleading: “Be aware of the advertising about no drilling. There is removal of enamel from said teeth so that the Lumineer adhesive adheres well.” She goes on to describe how the dentist removed enamel from the back of her teeth and also shortened them. When she asked why, she was “admonished” by the dentist.
But that was only the beginning. The problems, fumblings and unprofessionalism mounted: The upper set arrived 2 weeks before the lower set and when the latter did arrive one was missing. The dentist applied that Lumineers in what she describes as a “hurried” manner, even dropping one on the floor. The adhesive got between her teeth and flowed through to the “tongue side” leaving rough spots and getting hit by the lower teeth when she bit down. Again brushed off her complaints and told her she would “get used to it.” When the lower set arrived they made the problem worse rather than better as the dentist claimed, lengthening her lower teeth and completely throwing off her bite. She reports that her back teeth didn’t even touch.
She continues: “went back to the dentist once a week begging for something to be done to alliviate the pressure … Most of my teeth were adhered to each other and could not move separately…He refused to separate the teeth, stating it would ruin the guarantee.”
Then one of the Lumineers on the lower teeth popped off (this is a common complaint). The dentist tried several times to replace it but it kept doing the same thing until he gave up. She couldn’t floss due to the adhesive between the teeth, which made her feel like she was wearing braces, and her gums became inflamed. She experienced a constant pressure on her teeth and was constantly clenching them.
Finally she sought help from a cosmetic dentist after about a year of the Lumineer dentist’s evasions and bogus advice. His opinion in her words was: “substandard in quality and a cosmetic failure, must be redone.” She was unable to get a refund from the dentist, who refused to admit any wrongdoing and thus lost $12000 on the entire fiasco. She, like the first poster, would like to bring a class action suit against Den-Mat.
Clearly this is as much the fault of an inept dentist as it is the fault of Lumineers, perhaps much more so. This also is a recurring complaint: Den-Mat refers dentists who are not necessarily qualified for the job. In the words of Deborah Ketner, who had a horrendous experience similar to the one above and now has a whole website (listed below in the sources section) devoted to anti-Lumineer advocacy: “Don’t make the mistake I did by going with the referral that I received from Lumineers through Den-Mat Holdings, LLC. They aren’t necessarily giving you an experienced and qualified Lumineers certified dentist – just one who has paid for listing with them after three days of training the Lumineers method of fitting veneers.”
In fact, if you take nothing else from this article, remember to extensively check out any dental professional who claims they are experienced in applying Lumineers. You could even try getting references from other patients who have received the procedure from the dentist. The incompetence and bad attitudes of some Lumineer dentists seems to be one of the most common complaints. By and large it seems that cosmetic dentists are a much better bet than general practitioners, but even here you should pay close attention to their credentials.
Ketner also notes that Den-Mat is not much help if a patient tries to contact them about problems. The company basically tells the patient that they are only a manufacturer and the dentist must contact them in order to resolve any problems. But an uncooperative dentist such as many that the complaints mention may be reluctant to even do this.
These reports are common enough that you should definitely proceed with caution if considering Lumineers. There are many positive accounts as well about Lumineers, so don’t discount them on the basis of these accounts. The difference between a horror story and a glowing experience may be the dentist you use, but considering that Den-Mat does not seem over-eager to help out sufferers, the company’s attitude might also be taken into account. But in any event, be a discerning and informed consumer and do some good homework before you plunk down any money and hop in the chair.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My dentist led me to believe Lumineers is an easy procedure- not much grinding of the teeth required for prep and an overall painless procedure. He made a mold of my teeth so they could be as white as possible for the Lumineers. I didn’t know it then, but he was selling me a $200 whitening package called “Night White”. I did this everyday for about a month. I went in for the Lumineer prep with these insanely bright and over-whitened teeth. Except for my front two teeth! They were bonded and became discolored (Bonding doesn’t whiten and this was the reasoning for getting Lumineers). My dentist shortened my front two teeth and told me I had to wait two weeks for Denmat to make them. So I went on spring break with these stupid looking short teeth and an over-whitened smile. Whatever, I dealt with it.
The day I went back in he placed the Lumineers on and asked me what I thought. I honestly thought he was joking. I looked like a cartoon character! The Lumineers were too long, looked fake and were ginormous. I told him they were big so he tried to shape them to fit better. One cracked when he was doing this. I waited another two weeks for more Lumineers to arrive.
My dentist put them on told me they look better than before, and I said they were fine, but wasn’t completely honest. Yes, Dr. Magnusson, they do look better than my shorty teeth. The reality is my Lumineers look fake, opaque, bulky, round and too white. My teeth are very translucent and if so are yours DO NOT GET LUMINEERS. They really stick out and do not match the rest of my teeth. I have had these for almost two years, and want to get traditional veneers as soon as I can afford it.
My dentist took advantage of me for much more than $2,000. I lost confidence in my smile and constantly think people are staring at the Lumineers. I think it has affected me getting a job at some places. Don’t listen to all the hype. Your dentist gets paid to sell Lumineers.
Thank you for this blog. To see my dental nightmare, google: “These Lumineers have been hell.” I’ve been through Lumineer Hell that continues years and tens of thousands of dollars later in the legal system. I am most interested in the link to the anti-lumineer website? (((“In the words of Deborah Ketner, who had a horrendous experience similar to the one above and now has a whole website (listed below in the sources section) devoted to anti-Lumineer advocacy”))) I don’t see it? Has it been removed? If so, why?
I have them and they are awful. My teeth are grey and I have chronic gingivitis.
I purchased Lumineers for approximate 20 of my teeth due to tetracycline staining. They are beautiful. However, as is the case with many other consumers. They break, repeatedly, without pressure or eating or grinding issues. It is my belief that when dealing with porcelain if a tiny bubble or air pocket exists this may increase the risk with this thin product. I believe the manufacturers mislead consumers and dentists by statingtheir product lasts up to 20 years. I have had at least 8 of them replaced over the past two years. Only when removing far more natural tooth surface, have they managed to stay on. Many dentists are apparently not doing Lumineers anymore due to constant complaints.
I had 8 lumineers placed on my uppers about two and a half years ago. There was some tooth reduction to make room for them and this is almost certainly necessary always. lumineers are very thin, but they also wrap around and over the tooth. this is necessary for the lumineers bonding to remain strong. However, there almost always won’t be room for this little wrap around. The dentist has two choices. First, they can remove some of the bottom of your tooth to make room for the wrap around. Or when the lumineers arrives, the can install the lumineers and the shave off the wrap around part to make room for the opposing tooth. The problem with the second approach is the the lumineers loses it’s structural integrity and will, given time, crack and then peel off. Dentist are not structural engineers and don’t study stuff like strength of materials and the stuff that engineers (like me) learn and don’t understand that the little wraparound is an important part of the system. So they shave the part away and then are surprised when the lumineers fail. I am waiting a fix for one such instance right now. But tonight I have noticed that an adjacent lumineers also has a crack. I don’t know if it happened when the adjacent lumineers was drilled away. perhaps it is just a coincidence, but this is now the third lumineers I have had fail. I wear a night guard which I absolutely never forget. I treat my lumineers with the utmost respect. But they are still failing.
As for the othe issues, I have no complaints. They look and feel great, I did not have them made as white as possible. Instead I wanted a natural tooth shade that looks whitened, but not artificial. There is no problem with opacity. The biggest problem is that they crack too darn easily.