Cosmetic dentistry in Rugby · the honest guide
Do veneers hurt, and do they damage your teeth? What the two visits are really like
Written by Dr Nikkita Heer and Dr Jasmeet Heran, cosmetic dentists at Rugby Smiles · Reviewed September 2026
The short answer: no, they do not hurt. The tooth is numbed for the preparation, a thin layer of enamel is removed from the front surface, how much depends on the tooth, and fitting the porcelain is painless. Some people get a few days of cold sensitivity between the visits and after fitting, and it passes. The honest caveat is that the enamel removed does not grow back, which is why we only recommend veneers when they are genuinely the best option.
Veneers have a reputation from television makeovers and from clinics abroad where teeth are ground down to pegs. A porcelain veneer done properly is a different procedure: a thin shell over a lightly prepared front surface. Here is what each of the two visits involves, what you feel, what the fortnight in between is like, and the real answer on damage.
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Visit one: design and preparation
The design
Photos, shade chosen in daylight against your own teeth, and the shape agreed with you, sometimes with a wax model or a digital preview. This is the visit that decides how the veneers will look, and it is not rushed.
The preparation
The tooth is numbed. A thin layer of enamel is removed from the front surface so the veneer sits flush rather than proud. How much depends on the tooth: a small colour change on a well-positioned tooth needs very little, while changing the shape or the angle of a tooth needs more, and we tell you which yours is at the design visit. You feel pressure and vibration, not pain. An impression or scan is taken for the laboratory.
The temporaries
Temporary veneers are fitted the same day, made to the agreed shape. They protect the prepared teeth and let you live with the design for a fortnight, and change it if you want to.
The fortnight in between
The temporaries look good but they are not the finished article: slightly less translucent, a little more fragile, and bonded lightly so they come off easily. Eat carefully, avoid biting into hard or sticky food with them, and expect some cold sensitivity because the enamel has been prepared. If a temporary comes off, ring us and we refit it in minutes. This is also your chance to say the shape is too long, too square or too white, and the laboratory adjusts before the porcelain is made.
Visit two: fitting
The temporaries come off, the porcelain veneers are tried in without cement so you can check the shape and shade, and once you are happy each one is bonded on. The bonding is a light-cured resin cement, the same chemistry as composite bonding, and it does not hurt. The bite is checked and adjusted, the margins polished, and you leave finished. Most people need no anaesthetic for this visit; it is available if the teeth are sensitive.
“The only injection in the whole process is at the preparation visit. Everything after that is checking, adjusting and polishing, and the reaction we get at the mirror is not pain.”
Dr Nikkita Heer and Dr Jasmeet Heran, Rugby Smiles
Sensitivity afterwards, and when to ring
Cold sensitivity for a few days to a couple of weeks is normal after fitting, because the prepared enamel is settling under its new cover. Sensitivity toothpaste helps, and it fades. What is not normal: a veneer that feels high when you bite, which needs a minute’s adjustment; pain that is getting worse rather than better; or a veneer that feels loose. Any of those, ring us. How long veneers last covers the years after.
Do veneers damage your teeth?
The enamel removed to fit a veneer does not grow back, and that is the one permanent change. How much depends on the tooth and how far its colour, shape or angle is being changed; the nerve is untouched, and the tooth underneath stays healthy for as long as the veneer is well sealed and well cleaned. Where damage happens it is one of two things: a veneer that was never fitted properly, leaving a gap at the edge where plaque collects and decay starts; or a tooth that was ground down far more than a veneer needs, which is the abroad-clinic pattern of crowns sold as veneers. Neither is inherent to veneers; both are reasons to choose the dentist carefully.
- A well-fitted veneer protects the front of the tooth from wear and stain for years.
- The margin must be cleaned like any tooth: soft brush, interdental brushes, six-monthly hygiene visits with Airflow, which is safe on porcelain.
- Veneers cannot be removed and the tooth left bare. When a veneer is finished with, it is replaced. That is why we say no to veneers on teeth that bonding could fix.
Who should not have veneers, or not yet
- Anyone whose problem is position rather than shape or colour: Invisalign moves crooked teeth, veneers only disguise them, and the disguise gets thick.
- Untreated gum disease or decay: health first, cosmetic work second, always.
- Heavy grinders who will not wear a night guard, because porcelain chips under that force.
- Anyone for whom bonding at £250 would do the job. Keeping enamel is worth more than porcelain.
- Under-18s, whose teeth and gums are still changing.
The free consultation is where each of those is checked, and our veneers page carries the honest list of alternatives.
Questions people ask
Is getting veneers painful?
No. The tooth is numbed for the preparation visit and you feel pressure, not pain. Fitting the porcelain at the second visit does not need an injection for most people.
How much of the tooth is removed for a veneer?
It depends on the tooth and how much its colour, shape or angle needs changing: very little for a colour change on a well-placed tooth, more for reshaping or re-angling. It does not grow back, which is why we only recommend veneers when bonding or whitening would not do the job.
Do teeth hurt after veneers?
Some cold sensitivity for a few days to a couple of weeks is normal and fades. A veneer that feels high, loose, or increasingly painful needs a quick review.
How many visits do veneers take?
Two, about two weeks apart: design and preparation with temporaries fitted, then fitting the porcelain. Plus the free consultation beforehand.
Can veneers be removed?
Not to leave the tooth bare, because the enamel has been prepared. A veneer at the end of its life is replaced with a new one.
Do veneers ruin your teeth?
Not when fitted properly and cleaned well. The permanent change is a thin layer of enamel. Damage comes from poor fit or from teeth ground down far more than a veneer needs.
Two visits, one injection, a preview before anything permanent
The free cosmetic consultation looks at what bothers you, shows you what each option would look like, and gives you a written price for every route, including the cheaper one if it would do the job.
Read next: what veneers cost · bonding or veneers? · cosmetic dentistry in Rugby · Rugby Smiles Dental Clinic · 3 Newbold Road, Rugby CV21 2LQ · 01788 579 577