Veneers have been around for much longer than we often presume.
They have been used for a long time – they were used in Hollywood as early as 1928! However, there has been an obvious increase in popularity indicated by the number of ‘ordinary’ people we see sporting veneers today.
One demographic who can be deemed responsible for the normalisation of veneers are Instagram influencers.
We all know that for people who make a career out of social media, appearance is basically everything. Your job entails capturing and sharing your ‘everyday’ in bite-size posts in a way that is consumable for your followers.
Although we often like to stress the importance not to ‘judge a book by its cover,’ the reality is we are a highly aesthetics-centred society.
People like to look at things that are attractive to them, and when it comes to teeth, we often favour symmetry, whiteness and alignment.
Cosmetic dentistry becomes available for the masses
For Instagram influencers, if the money is available, having veneers is a simple, straight-forward, non-invasive procedure that can have a positive impact on your: self-confidence, social life, and even business.
Although once a procedure confined to circles of the elite, the chance to improve your smile is becoming an increasingly viable and increasingly popular option for anyone who has the money and motivation.
Veneers gained wide favour among traditional celebrities in the late 1990s and might have remained a luxury for the few were it not for Instagram. Read more about porcelain veneers here.
On one level, the platform allows these (mostly female, naturally attractive) ‘influencers’ to profit off of their own image, to literally create a business out of their image. With this opportunity, comes a mutual pressure to exhibit the same beauty standards we are used to seeing in traditionally famous celebrities.
See our article on how braces can help you feel more confident about your appearance.
For dentists, this means a new market of patients, but also a new opportunity to help people achieve their desired looks in a world where we can alter or ‘fix’ any part of ourselves if we have the time, money and resources.
These changes have also affected the way that dentists work and gain patients.
There is a growing class of Instagram-famous medical professionals (plastic surgeons, dermatologists and even dentists) who have gained popularity online and thus increased the profitability of their own businesses.
Instagram influencers can tag their own surgeons, and the followers who idealise them can easily click through and gain access to these procedures themselves.
Beauty standards are changing, and although once a luxury good, veneers and other forms of cosmetic dentistry are almost becoming as common as for example a new haircut or a change in make-up style.
If the opportunities are available to us, we should be able to make whatever changes we desire in order to feel better about ourselves. There is a lot of pressure to look good, online and in reality, and if you have the money to make subtle changes to improve your life, such as veneers, then why not do so?
The most important thing is to make sure you choose a qualified dentist, because with an influx in popularity, naturally comes an influx in non-qualified dentists trying to profit off of patients, without the necessary skills and experience!
See our testimonials for a better idea about how our patients think we do…