It is the first real question in almost every consultation, and it deserves a real answer: how much of my natural tooth will you take away?
Here is mine. It’s different for every tooth. Not every tooth in every mouth. Every single tooth in your mouth. One tooth might need almost nothing because I’m adding material to it, not taking any away. The tooth next to it might need a precise adjustment because it sits slightly outside the line of your smile. Anyone who gives you one number for your whole mouth before studying your face hasn’t looked closely enough to earn your teeth.
I’m Dr. Andi-Jean Miro. I’ve spent over a decade doing cosmetic dentistry at the highest level, in New York and Beverly Hills, and I built my reputation on a philosophy that sounds almost too simple: touch as little as possible, and only ever with a reason.
The video that scared everyone
You’ve seen the clips. Teeth filed down to little points, a full row of them, captioned “getting my veneers.” Let me be direct: that is not veneer preparation. What you’re seeing in those videos is preparation for full crowns, a far more aggressive treatment, often done abroad, often on healthy young teeth that never needed it.
Real porcelain veneers are thin. The artistry is in how little tooth has to change to make the final result look inevitable, like the smile you were always supposed to have.
Where the answer actually comes from
Before I touch anything, I study the architecture of your smile the way you’d study a face: the line of your teeth, which ones sit forward, which ones hide, how your smile lives in your face. Not a chart of ideal measurements. Beauty is not symmetry. It’s balance.
Then something surprising happens in my chair. For many patients, the first version of their new smile is built by adding, not removing. I place a soft composite material directly onto the teeth, no drilling, no needles, about ten minutes, and sculpt the shape we’re considering. And here is the sentence I say while I do it, the one I want you to remember:
Everywhere you see me adding material, it means I don’t have to touch your tooth.
A tooth that sits back in your smile gets built out. A tooth already in the right position might only be refined at the edge. A tooth that leans forward, outside the line of the smile, is the one that needs an actual adjustment, and even then, the goal is to move it into harmony, not to reduce it to something unrecognizable. When you see the mockup photo next to your before photo, you’re not imagining your result. You’re looking at it.
What “conservative” really means
Conservative doesn’t mean timid, and it doesn’t mean every case is “no-prep.” Sometimes the most protective thing I can do for a tooth is adjust it properly, because a veneer placed over a tooth in the wrong position is a beautiful mistake waiting to happen. Conservative means every adjustment has a purpose, and the purpose is never speed, never convenience, and never a formula.
It also means preserving enamel wherever possible, because enamel is what your veneer bonds to, and that bond is what carries a smile beautifully for a decade or more. Protecting your enamel isn’t a courtesy. It’s the engineering.
The question behind the question
When patients ask how much I’ll shave their teeth, what they’re really asking is: will I still be me?
That is the question I actually design for. My work is meant to disappear into your face. When it’s done well, nobody sees dentistry. They see you, on your best day, permanently.
So ask the question. Ask it in every consultation you take, including mine. And listen for whether the answer is a number, or a philosophy.
I see patients in Beverly Hills and New York. Bring the question. I’ll answer it tooth by tooth.
Continue reading: Porcelain veneers in Beverly Hills: what to expect · Before we talk about veneers
Common questions
Do veneers ruin your natural teeth?
No. Properly planned porcelain veneers preserve as much natural tooth as possible. The viral videos of teeth filed to points show aggressive crown preparation, not veneers.
How much tooth is removed for veneers?
It is different for every tooth. Some teeth need no reduction at all because material is added instead; others need a precise adjustment to bring them into the line of the smile.
What are no-prep veneers, and am I a candidate?
No-prep veneers involve little to no removal of tooth structure. Some patients are true candidates and some are not. The honest answer comes from a facial analysis, not a trend.
Do veneers hurt?
Veneer preparation with a conservative approach is comfortable, and most of the smile design process, including the in-mouth preview, involves no drilling at all.
How do I know if a cosmetic dentist is conservative?
Ask them how much they will touch your teeth. A specific philosophy, evaluated tooth by tooth, with a preview you can see before committing, is the answer you want to hear.
This article is general information only and not a substitute for a personal exam and treatment plan from your own dentist.
Cosmetic dentist at Apa Aesthetic in Beverly Hills and New York since 2015. NYU College of Dentistry. Founder and Chief Education Officer of Stribe, where she has trained more than 1,000 dentists.
About Dr. Andi
