By Dr. Gregg Barry · Published 10 June 2026
Here’s a question we get asked a lot: “Can’t you just put veneers straight on and skip the braces?” It’s a fair question (nobody’s thrilled at the idea of more months in treatment than they have to be). But the honest answer is that for a lot of smiles, the order we do things in matters every bit as much as the work itself. Get the sequence right and you protect more of your own teeth, the result looks more natural, and it lasts longer. Get it wrong and you can end up grinding away healthy enamel to disguise a problem that orthodontics could have simply corrected.
So let’s talk about why we so often plan Invisalign first, then veneers — and when we don’t. No jargon, no hard sell, just the thinking behind it.
Why does the order of treatment matter so much?
Doing orthodontics before veneers means we can place thinner, more conservative veneers on teeth that are already in the right position — instead of using porcelain to hide a crookedness that Invisalign could have fixed properly in the first place.
Think of it like this. A porcelain veneer is a thin shell of ceramic bonded to the front of a tooth. It’s brilliant at changing colour, shape and surface — but it is not designed to move a tooth. So if a tooth is sitting too far back or rotated, the only way to make a veneer “fill the gap” is to build the porcelain out further on one side, or to cut the tooth down more on the other. Both of those compromises cost you something: either a bulkier, less natural-looking veneer, or more of your healthy tooth gone forever.
When the teeth are already lined up nicely, the veneer only has to do the job it’s genuinely good at — refining colour and shape. That’s where the magic happens. This is the same principle as choosing between bonding and veneers in the first place: the better the foundation, the less material you need and the better it looks.
What does Invisalign actually do before the veneers go on?
Invisalign gently moves your teeth into their ideal positions over roughly six to twelve months, so the veneers that follow only have to perfect colour and shape — not compensate for alignment that should have been sorted first.
Aligners work by applying small, controlled forces that walk each tooth, a fraction of a millimetre at a time, towards a planned end point. For the kind of mild-to-moderate crowding, gaps and rotations we see most often before a smile makeover, that’s exactly what they’re built for. The research backs this up — a 2019 systematic review in BMC Oral Health (Ke and colleagues) found no statistically significant difference in outcomes between clear aligners and fixed braces for mild-to-moderate cases, with aligners finishing on average around six months faster. In our experience that speed, plus the fact you can take them out to eat and clean, is why most patients planning veneers would far rather do their straightening with Invisalign than with brackets and wires.
One lovely side effect: once teeth are aligned, we sometimes find a patient needs fewer veneers than they first thought — because the alignment alone has already done half the work.
How much tooth would we have to remove if we skipped the orthodontics?
Feldspathic veneers can be as thin as 0.3mm when teeth are already well-aligned, but skipping the straightening often forces 0.5–0.7mm or more of enamel reduction to mask the crookedness — and that’s tooth structure you never get back.
This is the part we feel most strongly about. Enamel doesn’t grow back. Every fraction of a millimetre we remove is permanent, so our whole philosophy is to remove as little as humanly possible. When a tooth is already in the right spot, we can often prepare it minimally — sometimes barely at all. When it’s rotated or pushed back, we’re suddenly cutting into healthy tooth just to create room for porcelain to sit flat. That’s a poor trade when a few months of aligners could have moved the tooth instead.
We use feldspathic porcelain for this work — it’s the most translucent, natural-looking ceramic there is, and it can be made beautifully thin. But that only pays off if the tooth underneath is positioned well. Straighten first, and we get to keep the veneers thin and keep your enamel.
How long does Invisalign-then-veneers take in Dublin?
From start to finish, an Invisalign-first smile makeover in Dublin usually runs about nine to fourteen months — roughly six months of aligners for mild-to-moderate cases, a short settling period, then two to three appointments to design, try in and bond the veneers.
We know that sounds like a long time when you’re keen to get going. But here’s the thing we always tell people: start earlier than you think you need to, especially if there’s a wedding, a big birthday or a holiday on the horizon. The straightening phase is the part you can’t really rush — teeth move at the pace teeth move. The veneer phase at the end is quick by comparison, because all the careful planning has already been done. If you’re working towards a date, the same “start early” advice applies that we give for any full smile makeover.
What does it cost to do Invisalign and veneers together?
In Dublin, Invisalign through ISCD is typically €2,500 to €3,500 and our feldspathic veneers are €1,200 per tooth, so a combined plan usually lands between €9,700 and €13,100.
We’d rather give you real numbers than be vague about it. Six feldspathic veneers come to €7,200; eight to €9,600. Add the aligner phase — quoted by ISCD (the Institute of Specialist and Cosmetic Dentistry), and typically €2,500 to €3,500 depending on how many aligners your case needs and how complex the movement is — and you can see how the total builds. It’s a meaningful investment, no question. But consider the alternative: porcelain veneers bonded to enamel have shown survival rates above 90% at both 15 and 20 years in a systematic review in the European Journal of Dentistry (AlJazairy, 2021) — and those long-term results lean heavily on the veneers being thin, well-bonded and placed on well-positioned teeth. Doing the orthodontics first is part of what protects that investment. We’d genuinely rather you spent the money once and had it last.
Who does the Invisalign — and who does the veneers?
At Docklands Dental the orthodontics is carried out by specialist orthodontist Dr. Susan O’Connell at ISCD, the specialist practice we work closely with, and the feldspathic veneers are placed by Dr. Gregg Barry at Docklands — one coordinated plan, shared between two practices.
This collaboration is, honestly, one of the things we’re proudest of. Orthodontics is its own specialty — Dr. O’Connell is a specialist orthodontist, which means years of additional training purely in moving teeth. She is joined at ISCD by Dr. Erfan Salloum, also a specialist orthodontist, whose work covers lingual braces bonded behind the teeth as well as conventional and clear-aligner treatment — so if your case turns out to suit fixed appliances rather than aligners, that option is there without going anywhere else. We plan the case together from the start: where the teeth need to end up is decided with the final veneers already in mind, so the orthodontic finish line is the perfect launch pad for the restorative work. That joined-up planning is hard to replicate in a single-discipline practice, and it’s a big part of why the results hold together so well.
Is it always worth doing Invisalign first?
Not always — for very mild irregularities, well-planned veneers or composite bonding alone can transform a smile in weeks rather than months. The honest answer in Dublin depends entirely on how far your teeth actually need to move.
Look, we’re not going to send everyone off for aligners on principle. If the teeth are only a touch uneven, or if the look you want is mostly about colour and shape rather than position, then jumping straight to veneers (or even non-invasive bonding) can be exactly the right call. The skill — and the bit we take seriously — is in telling the difference honestly. Sometimes a few months of Invisalign saves you a lot of enamel and gives a better result. Sometimes it’s an unnecessary detour. We’ll always tell you which one we think you’re looking at, even when the simpler, cheaper option is the better one for you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get veneers without doing Invisalign first?
Yes — if your teeth are only mildly out of line and the change you want is mostly about colour and shape, veneers alone can work beautifully. The reason we sometimes recommend Invisalign first is to avoid removing healthy enamel just to mask crookedness. For bigger alignment issues, straightening first usually means thinner, longer-lasting veneers.
How long after Invisalign can I have veneers placed?
Usually we allow a short settling period of a few weeks once the aligners come off, often with a retainer, so the teeth are stable in their new positions before we bond anything permanent. After that, the veneer phase typically takes two to three appointments to design, try in and place.
Is Invisalign or fixed braces better before veneers?
For the mild-to-moderate movements most veneer patients need, clear aligners like Invisalign work very well and tend to finish around six months faster than fixed braces, with comparable outcomes. For more complex movements, a specialist orthodontist may still recommend fixed braces — which is exactly why we plan these cases with the specialist orthodontists at ISCD, Dr. Susan O’Connell and Dr. Erfan Salloum. Dr. Salloum also provides lingual braces, bonded behind the teeth, for patients who want fixed treatment that does not show.
How much does Invisalign and veneers cost together in Dublin?
As a rough guide, the aligner phase is provided and quoted by ISCD and typically runs €2,500 to €3,500 depending on the number of aligners and the complexity, while our feldspathic veneers are €1,200 per tooth (€7,200 for six, €9,600 for eight). A combined plan commonly lands between €9,700 and €13,100. We give you a full, itemised plan after your consultation so there are no surprises.
Thinking about straightening before your veneers? Let’s have a chat
If you’re weighing up Invisalign, veneers, or both — and you’re not sure what order makes sense for your smile — come and talk to us. We’ll look properly, tell you honestly what we’d do and what we wouldn’t, and map out a plan with real timelines and real numbers. No pressure, no hard sell, just a conversation.
Docklands Dental
1 Forbes Street, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, D02 FN53
Phone: 01 636 0192
Email: hello@docklandsdental.ie
Web: docklandsdental.ie
Thinking about veneers? You can book a cosmetic consultation online — thirty minutes with one of our dentists to look at your teeth and talk through the options and what they would cost (€80, as listed on our price list).
