Tag Archives: getting a smile makeover

Porcelain Veneers

tri-colored porcelain veneers

I’ve got a smile makeover disaster. I have three different colored teeth right now. First, my ugly natural yellow teeth, then I had four porcelain veneers placed. Three of them look okay, but one of them is an uneven gray color. I paid a lot of money hoping to get a beautiful smile, but now I feel ridiculous with three different colors of teeth. I don’t even smile. My dentist said she’d make the gray one thicker to even out the colors, but I’m not sure how that will look and I’m losing confidence in her. What do you recommend?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

A single porcelain veneer being placed on a tooth

Yikes! I can understand why you are unhappy. It sounds like you went to your family dentist who was in over her head. First, don’t let her make the graying veneer thicker. In fact, I think you need to ask for a refund and start over.

If I’m right about the graying veneer you have a good case for one. Because it is a splotchy gray, I think there isn’t a good bond between the porcelain veneer and the tooth. This is bad for your teeth. It allows things to get between the two, leaving you vulnerable for decay.

When you have this re-done, the first thing the dentist will have you do is whiten your teeth. This will keep your adjacent teeth from being an obviously different color. This is why your natural teeth look so obviously different from your four porcelain veneers.

Finding the Right Cosmetic Dentist to do Your Porcelain Veneers

It is imperative you have an excellent cosmetic dentist to re-do your porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, doing beautiful smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school. Dentists have to invest time in getting the training they need.

Even with training, as with every art, some dentists have a more artistic eye than others. If you want the best cosmetic dentist, I’d go to aacd.com and look up an accredited cosmetic dentist in your area.

AACD accredited cosmetic dentists are the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They’ve passed stringent oral and written exams. Additionally, they have to provide visual evidence of a large number of cases they’ve done in order to show they are both technically skilled and artistic.

This blog is brought to you by Louisiana Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.

Cosmetic Dentist

Why won’t my dentist do lumineers?

I want to get a smile makeover. My general dentist is also highly praised as a cosmetic dentist so I was pretty sure I’d get what I want. But, when I told him I wanted lumineers, he wasn’t too keen and said he’d prefer to do something else.

Jennine G. – Brooklyn, NY

Jennine,

Your dentist is just trying to give you the best new smile possible.  If he’s highly praised as a cosmetic dentist, then it is likely he knows that Lumineers are the best quality porcelain veneer you can get.

One of the biggest problems with them is the lab.  Lumineers are owned by the Den Mat corporation, which insists that dentists use their lab. Unfortunately, their lab is pretty sub-par in creating gorgeous veneers.

Most expert cosmetic dentists have a lab they prefer working with and they don’t want to be tied down to an inferior lab.

This blog is brought to you by Louisiana Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.

Cosmetic Dentist

Do you have to grind your teeth for cosmetic dentistry?

I was thinking of getting some cosmetic dentistry done to make my teeth look beautiful, but I’ve heard you have to get your teeth ground down. Is that true? I’m not too keen on that idea, to be honest.

Mary G. – Denton, TX

Mary,

It’s lovely that you’re wanting to do a smile makeover. Cosmetic Dentistry can completely change your appearance. it can even make you look years younger.

You don’t have to grind down your teeth for cosmetic dentistry. Occassionally, you may need a dental crown for a damaged tooth, but that is not cosmetic.

If you’re wanting to remake your smile, the best procedure would be to get porcelain veneers. There is no grinding in that case. It’s possible you’ll need to have your teeth gently shaved for tooth preparation, but that would only be about the depth of a fingernail.   There is no real visible difference between the prepared and unprepared teeth.

You’ll want to find an artistic cosmetic dentist in order to ensure  that you get a beautiful smile.  An inexperienced cosmetic dentist could give you a very horrible smile, so be careful.  My recommendation is you look for one of the dentists recommended on the mynewsmile.com website. They’ll have listings for great cosmetic dentists in your area.  They only recommend the best. A dentist cannot just pay to get on their site.

This blog is brought to you by Louisiana Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.