Gangnam Veneer Redo: Thinking About Gum and Tooth Health, Too

Hello. I'm Park Jonguk, DDS, MS, head doctor at Dream Dental Clinic and director of Lamista Academy, where I train dentists in veneer techniques.

Veneer treatment is an effective way to create a beautiful smile,

but over time, a redo can become necessary for various reasons.

Among the patients who visit us most often, many are experiencing discomfort due to gum problems and shifted teeth.

If a veneer doesn't fit precisely at the boundary between the tooth and the gum, the gum can swell or become inflamed,

and over time this can cause the gumline to become irregular.

Also, the teeth may have been well-aligned at the time the veneers were placed,

but afterward, changes in the bite or subtle tooth movement can make the alignment look off,

and in some cases the result starts to look noticeably artificial.

At our clinic, we go beyond simply reattaching new veneers.

We comprehensively diagnose gum health and tooth alignment together, then carry out a natural-looking redo.

If needed, we also consider gum contouring or an orthodontic approach together, to restore a harmonious gumline and carefully correct even minor tooth misalignment.

This allows the veneers to settle in naturally, just like the patient's original teeth.

What matters most is that, through the redo, patients experience a change that lets them smile comfortably and go about daily life without discomfort.

The moment a patient's worried expression at their first visit turns into a bright smile after treatment is the moment we value most.

A veneer redo isn't simply about fixing appearance.

It's a process that helps restore health and confidence in a patient's life.

These are veneers the patient received long ago, closer in nature to all-ceramic crowns.

The patient believed they had received veneer treatment,

but if we had to classify it, it was closer to all-ceramic crowns. A great deal of tooth structure had been removed.

This patient came to us for a veneer redo.

They had a variety of problems.

First, there was persistent gum inflammation, a side effect of having had too much tooth structure removed.

There was also a severe difference in gum height, which appears to have resulted from tooth movement,

though it likely wouldn't have become this severe if the initial treatment had been done well.

Performing aggressive gum contouring just because the teeth look short leads to various problems over time.

Both the color and shape of the teeth looked quite unnatural.

First, an analysis is needed.

The size and proportions of the teeth need to be measured.

These days, we often see veneer treatments performed without even this basic level of analysis.

No matter how much pressure there is to treat quickly and treat many patients at once,

the basics still have to be respected.

This process is especially important for a veneer redo.

Treatment should proceed only after a full plan has been worked out in advance through a precise wax-up diagnosis.

This is a considerably important part of the process.

All of the existing veneers were removed, and temporary teeth were made.

When there is gum inflammation and uneven gum height like this, temporary teeth are very important.

After using the temporary teeth for about two to three weeks, the gum shape gradually becomes more symmetrical, as shown in the photo below.

This isn't the case for every patient,

but waiting for the gums to stabilize is very important.

You can see the change in gum shape.

At this stage, the veneers are remade.

The new veneers have been completed.

At first, the gums need a period of time to adjust.

A slight amount of inflammation is visible.

Because too much tooth structure was removed during the first treatment,

there is a limit to how fully the gums can recover.

After several months, the gum inflammation can be seen gradually clearing up.

At the roughly one-year check-up,

the gum inflammation is nearly gone following the veneer redo.

This is why the first treatment matters so much.

Avoid clinics that advertise heavily, promise fast results, or skip a proper diagnosis.

The veneer redo was completed beautifully and naturally.

Looking at the before and after,

gum health improved and gum shape got better,

and you can see that the shape of the teeth improved as well.