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Duluth, GA 30097

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Archives for June 2023

Trying to Figure Out This Smile Makeover

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Can you help me figure out what is necessary for my smile makeover? I want to get porcelain veneers. My dentist said that I’ll need to get my teeth whitened first, which seems odd to me because the veneers should change the color, right? The other question I have is he wants me to get Invisalign first as well because I have one front tooth that is a bit crooked. I really just wanted the porcelain veneers. Is that possible?

Cadance

Hi Cadance,

porcelain veneer being held up near a tooth

I am glad you wrote. Your dentist’s advice here is about 50/50. His recommendation for teeth whitening before getting your porcelain veneers done is solid. It is actually to save you money. Most people cannot afford to get a porcelain veneer placed on each and every tooth. What you don’t want is part of your smile to look beautiful and white from the porcelain veneers and the others to look dingy and stained. That ends up making your veneers look fake.

So, unless you are planning on getting a porcelain veneer on every tooth, getting teeth whitening done helps the natural teeth to blend in with the veneered teeth, giving you a smooth, natural looking smile makeover.

The Invisalign is completely unnecessary in your case. A skilled cosmetic dentist can make a slightly crooked looking tooth appear straight when he plans your smile makeover. This begs the question “Is your dentist a skilled cosmetic dentist?” If he doesn’t know how to make that took look straight, then I would say he is not.

You will be better served getting your smile makeover done elsewhere by someone who does have the technical skills and artistry to give you a smile you will be proud of. I highly recommend looking at a dentist’s smile gallery to see if they can deliver the type of results you are looking for. If they do not have a smile gallery that is a red flag. Move on.

The other thing to look for is some type of beautiful smile guarantee. This means that your veneers are tried on with a temporary paste and you get to see them up close and in various lightings before approving them. If there’s something you want changed, the dentist should be willing to change that before any permanent bonding is done.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.

Dentist Can’t Match My Implant Crown because I’m “Between Shades”

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I have a dental implant that was placed on a front tooth. While waiting for the healing time to take place I wore a dental flipper. It didn’t completely match the adjacent front tooth but I knew it was temporary and that the porcelain crown would be better so I tried not to think about it too much. Unfortunately, my experience with the dental crown hasn’t been much better. I’ve asked my dentist to re-do it twice and now he is getting frustrated with me. He said the problem is that my teeth are between the two shades offered for dental crowns. Is there no way to get an exact match on this? Am I being too picky? It would not matter to me nearly as much if it wasn’t a front tooth.

Cassie

Dear Cassie,

Color map for a tooth

You are not being too picky. It sounds like your dentist is used to doing a lot of general dentistry but does not have any extensive understanding of the aesthetic side of dentistry. There are shade guides that dentists use to match dental crowns to tooth color. However teeth are rarely exactly like the shade guides. On a tooth that is toward the back, this is not a big deal because close is enough with the shadows from our mouth hiding the minute differences.

A front tooth is different. A skilled dentist would not just send the lab a simple shade reference. They would send a color map along with it similar to what I have above. This uses different tints to help the lab mimic the variations that occur in our natural teeth. Your dentist may not be able to do this. It takes some skill and cosmetic training. He may not even have the material necessary to help him derive the correct color mapping.

So you know, when it comes to front teeth, even the most skilled cosmetic dentist will have to do several tries. They are harder than your other teeth because they are so exposed to the light. However, it sounds like your dentist isn’t trying to get an exact match and has just given up. In that case, you will be better served getting a refund for the crown part of your dental implant procedure and having that done by another dentist who is willing to put in the necessary work.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.