Veneers can change color, length, shape, almost anything about how a tooth looks. What they can't do is fix why your teeth are in the wrong position to begin with.

This is the misconception we run into constantly, often traceable straight back to Instagram. Someone has crowded teeth, or teeth that are wearing down because of how they meet, and the plan is to cover the problem with a full set of veneers. That approach doesn't address what's actually causing the wear or the crowding. The underlying issue keeps working against the veneers sitting on top of it.

This is why we talk about orthodontics, usually Invisalign, before veneers so often. Getting the teeth into a good position first is the foundation. Once that foundation is right, veneers can do almost anything cosmetically: change shade, close spacing, adjust shape, correct teeth that are simply too small for someone's face. Skip the foundation, and you're building on a shelf that isn't level.

Veneers also aren't a replacement for the tooth underneath them. They're an addition, not a reset. If a natural tooth is hard to keep clean or function on because of its position, that same tooth is still hard to clean and function on once it has a veneer on it. A veneer accentuates what's already there. It doesn't wipe the slate clean.