Options for Fixing My Nephew’s Smile

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For my Nephew’s graduation, I gave him a gift of fixing his teeth. His mother never had enough money for braces and I didn’t want him spending his entire adult life feeling uncomfortable about his appearance. I was thinking orthodontics, but his dentist told him that he could get his smile fixed much faster with Lumineers without having a mouth full of metal, but he’s asking close to $25,000! Is there some other option for him that is faster than braces, but not as expensive as Lumineers?

Selena

Dear Selena,

A comparison of braces versus Invisalign

I’m glad you wrote. If the only thing wrong with your nephew’s smile was that fact that his teeth were misaligned then what his dentist is recommending would be a massive overtreatment. Lumineers are a brand of porcelain veneers. When someone is looking for that Hollywood smile, that is when they get porcelain veneers. They can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth at the same time. If you’re just looking to straighten your teeth, or even straighten and whiten your teeth, then there is a much better option.

Invisalign uses clear aligners to straighten a patient’s teeth. Even at a conversational distance, no one would be able to tell that your nephew is wearing orthodontics. They also work in half the time of traditional braces. If he does need teeth whitening, you can save money here because the aligner can double as teeth whitening trays. His dentist can simply provide him with the gel, which he can wear in the aligners at a point in the day or night that is most convenient for him.

What If He Wants a Total Smile Makeover?

A porcelain veneer being held up to a tooth

Let’s say there is more wrong with his teeth and he does need a total smile makeover, and it is something you are wiling to pay for, I would not go to a dentist who is recommending Lumineers to have this procedure done. This particular brand of porcelain veneers are highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. Unfortunately, this does not mean that it is easy to create beautiful smiles. In fact, smile makeovers are not adequately taught in dental school. In order for a dentist to do it well means that they need to invest in post-doctoral training.

A second problem with Lumineers is the fact that their parent company requires dentists to use their lab, which is not known for creating good results. What you would want instead, is to find an expert cosmetic dentist and let them choose the brand as well as the lab.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

How Much Teeth Whitening Do I Need Before Lumineers?

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I want to get a smile makeover. My dentist is suggesting Lumineers. They are pricey, so I’m not sure how many of them I can afford. I can do six but it looks like my smile is pretty wide. That means my other teeth will show and I’ll have two different looking teeth. I was looking around for information on alternatives and came across your site. It looks like as long as I whiten my teeth, the others will blend in with the Lumineers, right? Is there a way to know how much whitening I need as far as length of time?

Sandy

Dear Sandy,

Teeth Whitening Trays

It is good you are doing some research. I think this will save you some real anguish. First, yes, teeth whitening is a great option when you can’t get quite as many veneers as you need for the width of your smile. In fact, it is a common recommended step when it comes to getting a smile makeover.

I could not tell you with any certainty how much whitening you would need. That depends on a lot of factors, such as how white you want your smile makeover to be and how long you can tolerate wearing the bleaching trays. The basic principle is the longer you can wear the trays each day, the faster your teeth will whiten.

I wanted to bring up the Lumineers, though. This is just one brand of porcelain veneers. I’m a bit concerned that this is the brand your dentist is suggesting. It is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists and there are other options. The biggest problem with Lumineers is that the company who owns them insists that dentists use their laboratory. Unfortunately, this lab is not known for their artistry. Most expert cosmetic dentists have a ceramist they prefer to work with at a specific lab. One they can trust to create the results they’ve designed.

I’m going to suggest you get a second opinion with another dentist on the type of porcelain veneers to get. If it is a matter of cost and this dentist is cheaper, I suggest you go ahead with the teeth whitening, which will greatly improve your smile. Then, save up for the dentist who can do your smile makeover correctly. This way you end up with results that thrill you instead of disappoint you.

This blog is is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Can No-Prep Veneers Work for Anyone?

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I was wondering if no-prep porcelain veneers can work for any patient or if it is best with a certain type of smile, such as someone with thin, tiny teeth? I told my dentist I wanted a smile makeover and he is suggesting the Lumineers brand because they are no-prep. I just want to make sure that my teeth won’t look bulky as a result. I have a big smile.

Candice

Dear Candice,

Lumineers advertisement

I am glad you wrote. While no-prep porcelain veneers can work in some cases, most smiles will need some type of tooth preparation. One of my concerns with your dentist suggesting that brand right away is that Lumineers is a brand that is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. While not prepping teeth does make the placement a bit easier, it has nothing to do with the skill necessary to make them look beautiful.

I would be cautious here. Ask your dentist to show you before and after pictures of Lumineers’ cases he has actually done himself. Many patients have complained they were too bulky and opaque. Some even have gone so far as to compare them to horse teeth.

If it turns out you are a good candidate for no-prep veneers, most skilled cosmetic dentists prefer different brands of porcelain veneers. This is because the Lumineers’ parent company insists dentists use their lab, which is not known for its artistic results. There are many different brands, including no-prep. Each has different qualities, so which brand your dentist picks will depend on the type of smile you want to create.

If you look at your dentist’s smile gallery and are not blown away, do not let him give you your smile makeover. This is a huge investment and you want it done by someone who has the technical training and artistry to give you the stunning smile you’ve been dreaming about.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

White Spots on Teeth

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I’ve had white spots on my two front teeth my whole life. I like how they look, but my other teeth are dingy in comparison. My dentist is suggesting Lumineers, but I think that is more than I am wanting to pay. Can I not just whiten my teeth without whitening the two front teeth?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

tooth bleaching trays

Teeth whitening trays

 

I am glad you decided not to go with Lumineers. If all you want to do is whiten your teeth, that would be a massive, not to mention expensive, overtreatment. Additionally, Lumineers in particular are highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists. That is the last person you would want to have do a smile makeover for you. It takes significant post-doctoral training, not to mention an artistic eye, to do it well.

In your case, I would go with teeth whitening. However, teeth whitening works on teeth evenly. Ask your dentist to provide you with at-home bleaching trays. These should be custom fit to your bite. However, because of your two front teeth, you’ll want him or her to cut out the front teeth from the trays. This way the only thing being whitened are the teeth without the white spots.

For the benefit of others, I want to mention there is another type of white spots that takes a completely different treatment. If someone has white spots, they could have been there from childhood, as Laurie; but, often white spots appear after braces. These spots are different. They are decalcification spots, which are a precursor to tooth decay. Those who are wearing braces, often don’t realize how difficult it is to adequately brush around all those wires and brackets. This is why we recommend Invisalign whenever someone is a candidate. These are removable and make it super easy to upkeep your dental hygiene.

The solution for the type of white spots from braces, requires a skilled cosmetic dentist. The white spots have to be gently removed and then they can be recovered with composite bonding.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Fixing a Tooth Gap

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I have a medium-sized tooth gap. My dentist is suggesting we do Lumineers, but I am on kind of a tight budget at the moment. Would I better off getting braces? I’m not too keen on that idea because I’m in my early 30s, but I am ready to get rid of this gap.

Leslie

Dear Leslie,

I’m glad you wrote. I am not going to recommend you go with Lumineers. It is a rather large overtreatment for your situation. The good news is, you can fix this without ugly metal braces. You have two good choices here.

Option One: Dental Bonding

before and after dental bonding

In most cases, dental bonding is the solution. It uses a composite bonding to close up the space. In the picture above, you see it used to repair a chipped tooth. This is not something any dentist can do. You will need to go to an experienced cosmetic dentist, especially since it has to be done freehand. I am not going to recommend you use your dentist for this. My guess is he suggested Lumineers because he doesn’t know how to do dental bonding. The Lumineers brand is often marketed to dentists who are inexperienced with cosmetic dentistry as being easy to place. That is likely why he suggested it. If he does this, you won’t like the results.

One thing to note. While the color can be made to match your teeth perfectly, the color is permanent. If you decide to whiten your teeth in a year, your natural teeth will whiten but your bonding will not. Because of that, I often suggest if you plan on whitening your teeth to do so before you have the bonding done. This will save you money in the long run.

Option Two: Invisalign

Invisalign Aligners

If the only thing you want to fix about your tooth alignment is the gap, then dental bonding is the way to go. It is faster and cheaper than the option I’m giving you now. However, if there are other things about your bite that need to be realigned, it will be worth it to get Invisalign. These are sometimes called invisible braces. That is because they use clear aligners to straighten your teeth. There are no wires or brackets either. No one will even know you have orthodontics on.

Either one of these will work for you and will be a better and less expensive option than your dentist is suggesting.
This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Bonding instead of Lumineers?

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I had bonding placed on my teeth about 7 years ago while I was a minor. These are starting to wear down and I was thinking of getting Lumineers to replace them. Then, I started doing some research and learned that most of the really good cosmetic dentists don’t like Lumineers. This scared me off so now I am thinking about just getting bonding done again. I want to make a beautiful smile but am worried people will know they are fake if my smile is too beautiful. What is your experience with these two issues?

Candy

Dear Candy,

blonde woman smiling

These are great questions. You are right that many dentists with true artistry and expertise in cosmetic dentistry do not like Lumineers. This is mostly because their company requires dentists to use their dental lab. This particular lab is not known for its beautiful results. Dentists usually prefer to use their own ceramist whom they trust will produce the results they expect from the instructions they provide.

While your dental bonding can be redone, because these have to be done freehand, doing it well takes a very long time, which drives up the price. Additionally, they will not last as long as you’d like, so I honestly don’t recommend that route. The good news for you, however, is that Lumineers are simply one brand of porcelain veneers.

My suggestion is you find a great cosmetic dentist and let them choose the brand of porcelain veneers that will give you the beautiful result you truly want. Veneers will last many more years.

As to your other question, I would not hold back. While you are intimately acquainted with your smile, others are not. Cosmetic dentists have seen this over and over. A patient gets a stunning smile makeover. When people see them, their comments go something like this…

“Have you lost weight? You look gorgeous. Something is different but I can pin it down. Whatever it is, it’s working.”

My advise? Get your dream smile.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Lumineers to Whiten Teeth?

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I wanted to get my teeth whitened and talked to my dentist about it. He told me he was just certified in Lumineers and that could whiten my teeth while fixing a tiny chip I have on one of my teeth. The chip has never really bothered me until he brought it up. For some reason, it never occurred to me people will notice the chip. Now suddenly it worries me. However, the price of Lumineers is pretty high. Is there another option?

Beth

Dear Beth,

Teeth Whitening Trays

You definitely don’t want to move forward with your dentist’s plans. Not only is it a massive overtreatment, but you are likely to end up with a smile that is worse than what you started with. Lumineers is a brand of porcelain veneers that is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. While they don’t necessarily require tooth preparation the way other brands do, that doesn’t mean the dentist will know how to create a beautiful smile. While he is Lumineers certified, all that means is he attended a seminar. That doesn’t actually provide any training in doing smile makeovers.

Fortunately, I don’t think that is at all necessary for you. If your teeth need whitening, the logical procedure would be teeth whitening. Duh. This is significantly less expensive. As for the chipped tooth. It may not be as noticeable as you think. Your dentist is in your mouth up close. He is supposed to notice every little detail. If it didn’t bother you before I wouldn’t let the dentist’s comment change that.

before and after dental bonding

That being said, I realize sometimes once something gets our attention, it is hard to let go. The simplest and most affordable solution if you decide something has to be done is to have tooth bonding done to it. This is where a cosmetic dentist will hand sculpt composite resin onto the tooth to fill in the missing part. The image directly above shows what this can look like. However, you should be aware this procedure requires a skilled cosmetic dentist. Before I let anyone try it, I’d ask them to show you some before and after pictures of cases they’ve done to make sure they are up to the task.

If a dentist offers an option for a virtual smile consult, that can help you find out what they can do for you.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Can Lumineers Fix My Lumineers?

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I got Lumineers a few years ago. They were never the color I wanted, but looked a tad stained to me. My dentist said they didn’t make them as white as I wanted. Now I’m seeing people who’ve had smile makeovers with much whiter teeth so I”m thinking the technology has changed. Can I get Lumineers placed over old ones to make them whiter? My dentist said teeth whitening won’t work.

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

single porcelain veneer being held up by a dental tool

Your dentist was mistaken about the first set of Lumineers. Any porcelain veneers (and Lumineers are just one brand of porcelain veneers) can be made as white as you want and that has been true since their inception. This tells me your dentist is an inexperienced cosmetic dentist who was trying to make sure your smile looked “natural”. It doesn’t surprise me he recommended Lumineers. They’re highly marketed to beginner cosmetic dentists as being easy to place.

Years ago, the Lumineers brand tried marketing itself as a way to “fix” old, ugly looking crowns. The reviews were horrible by those who had it done, which may be why they no longer market for that.

It is just as much work and safer for you to just have your porcelain veneers re-done than it is to place new veneers on top of old. Otherwise, you have two bonding procedures. If one fails, they both fail. It’s more secure to bond porcelain to natural tooth structure than it is to bond porcelain to porcelain.

Getting Your Porcelain Veneers

I don’t think you should go to the same dentist to have your porcelain veneers re-done. He doesn’t seem to understand how smile makeovers work. It’s not actually taught in dental school so dentists have to invest time and money for additional training to develop their skills.

I would look up some dentists who advertise as cosmetic dentists in your area. Before doing anything, check out the smile gallery on their website. If they don’t have one, they don’t take cosmetic dentistry very seriously. If you love the results they create, the next step would be to check their reviews.

This helps you know what other patients have felt about his or her practice. Once you are satisfied with both of those things, make sure they have some form of a beautiful smile guarantee. This way you can be certain you’ll get the smile you really want.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Solution for a Gigantic Tooth Gap

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I have a rather large tooth gap. My dentist said it is about 9mm. I want to fix it and whiten my teeth at the same time. My dentist said he was just certified in Lumineers and can place those on my teeth to close the gap. Is this a good solution? I want to make sure for two reasons. One, it’s expensive. Two, he is new at it.

Joey

Dear Joey,

Invisalgin Aligner

Inviaslgin Aligner

I want you to run away from the recommendation your dentist gave you as fast as you can. Here are just a few reasons why. First, Lumineers are simply a brand of porcelain veneers. This particular brand is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place because there is no prep. In all honesty, there is no such thing as no-prep veneers. Your teeth will have to be etched no matter what brand you use.

Second, certification in Lumineers simply means they have attended a seminar. It does nothing to develop their skill or teach them artistry.

Thirdly, your particular case would require a dentist who has tremendous skill, experience, and artistry in placing porcelain veneers. The size of your gap is enough to fit an entire tooth into. In order to make this look natural, it will take some technical expertise not available to your dentist.

Invisalign is a Much Better Solution

In your place, I would have Invisalign done. These use clear aligners to straighten and align your teeth. You can see a picture of one of the aligners above. These will close the gap without anyone even knowing you are wearing orthodontics. They are invisible even at a conversational distance. Additionally, they are much more comfortable than traditional braces and work in half the time.

Not only will using Invisalign cost significantly less than getting porcelain veneers, but the aligners can double as teeth whitening trays, saving you even more money. Your dentist can just provide you with the whitening gel, which you can wear in your aligners at a convenient time for you. This allows you to straighten and whiten your teeth at the same time.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

My Porcelain Veneers Make me Look Like Bugs Bunny

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I don’t know what to do. I think I made a mistake begging my dentist to give me porcelain veneers. I could tell he wasn’t keen but I felt desperate to get a smile which didn’t bother me. My teeth are short and stubby. I wanted to make them longer. Now they’re way too long and bulky. I honestly feel like bugs bunny. Can this be fixed?

Samantha

Dear Samantha,

a porcelain veneer being placed

In every profession, including dentistry, there are different strengths and weaknesses with each person. For some dentists, they prefer to focus on the general dentistry aspects of keeping teeth healthy and repairing them when they aren’t. Others invest time in learning cosmetic skills.

However, even among those who like to do cosmetic work, there are different levels of artistry. No two dentists smile makeovers will turn out the same.

It sounds like your dentist prefers the general work, but deferred to your desire for longer teeth. His heart was in the right place but he didn’t have the skill set needed to make it work.

My guess is, because you said they looked bulky on top of too long, your dentist tried to do it with Lumineers. This is a brand of porcelain veneers which tends to be highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place.

Unfortunately, without the proper tooth preparation (which they tell the dentists isn’t necessary) the results tend to be bulky.

Fixing Badly Done Porcelain Veneers

Once dental work is bonded on, it’s permanently on. The only way to “fix” them is to have them redone. Now, you choose the correct solution to your problem. Porcelain veneers will absolutely give you the smile of your dreams. However, to truly get that smile, it will have to be through a different dentist.

Your dentist tried. He likely tried his best. But, if cosmetic dentistry isn’t his thing, his best will never be enough to give your smile the right results. It doesn’t mean you have to switch dentists. You’ll just have to see a different dentist for cosmetic work than your normal dental work.

Look up some cosmetic dentists in your area. Make sure they have post-doctoral training in cosmetic dentistry. You can do that by looking on their website or just calling their office and asking. After that, check out their smile gallery. Are the smile makeovers they’ve posted on there gorgeous? Would you be excited if that were your smile? If not, look at a different dentist.

The final step will be to check their reviews. What type of experience did other patients who’ve used their office have? Were they satisfied? From there, schedule a consultation. We offer, here at Cheek Dental in Marietta, a complimentary remote consultation.

Best of luck to you.
This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.