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Suite 200
Duluth, GA 30097

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Will a Dental Flipper Make My Teeth Look Straight?

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Some of my teeth are crooked and I’m looking for a way to make them look straight without getting a mouth full of braces. Someone told me that a dental flipper can snap over my teeth and make them look straight. Would that be a good solution for me?

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

Example of a dental flipperI think whoever told you about this has a dental flipper confused with snap-on smile. The image to the left is a dental flipper. It is used as a temporary tooth replacement while you are waiting on (or saving up for) a more permanent solution, such as a dental implant. They fit in empty spots. They will not fit over anything.

While snap-on smile will fit over your teeth to make them look straight, they are made of acrylic. They will not be as natural looking in close proximity and because they fit over your teeth can look a bit bulky. They’re mostly useful for things like a photoshoot and not as a permanent solution to crooked teeth that are making you uncomfortable to smile in front of others.

This doesn’t mean that you have to get traditional braces in order to get a beautiful, straight smile. You have other options. There have been many advancements to dentistry and orthodontics in recent decades. One of those is a way for adults to straighten their teeth without anyone even knowing.

Invisalign – Orthodontics for Professional Adults

Invisalign aligner

If you want to truly straighten your teeth without all those metal wires and brackets, then I suggest you get Invisalign or another quality brand of invisible braces. They use clear aligners to gently move your teeth into their correct position. Even at a conversational distance no one can tell that you are wearing them.

Additionally, the aligners can double as teeth whitening trays which allows you to straighten and whiten your teeth simultaneously. This gives you a mini smile makeover.

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

A Full Mouth Reconstruction for Teeth Whitening??

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I have an old dental crown that really needs to be replaced. They’re quite old. I have several porcelain veneers about the same age. These were all done by a dentist from another city where I used to live. My new dentist wants to replace all my teeth with dental crowns. This suggestion is because my teeth are not very white and he thinks this is the best way to make sure everything matches. This seems rather drastic to me. Can’t I replace them all with porcelain veneers instead of dental crowns? That way I don’t have to grind down my teeth that are healthy. Isn’t that a better solution?

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

woman covering her mouth

Yes, that would be a better solution. However, I have an even better one that will save you a significant amount of money. Unless you have a reason for wanting veneers on the teeth that don’t currently have them, such as wanting a complete smile makeover, then the simplest solution to your teeth not being white enough is to do teeth whitening. I’m absolutely appalled he is suggesting crowning all your teeth instead of whitening them.

Such a procedure is known as a full-mouth reconstruction. It is one of the most difficult and advanced procedures there is. In order to do it properly takes extensive post-doctoral training. Not only that, but if your dentist doesn’t do it correctly, it can completely throw off your bite leaving you with painful TMJ Disorder.

Here is my suggestion. If you just want to replace the old dental work. First, get your teeth whitening. Then, get the dental work replaced. You will only need one crown. Replace the porcelain veneers with more veneers. However, I am going to suggest you find a different dentist to do this. I don’t trust this one. You will want one who does beautiful cosmetic work. Check out their smile galleries to see what type of results they get.

If you want a full smile makeover, you would do the same as above, but you could add more porcelain veneers to the procedure, rather than just the ones you need to replace. Again, you will need a dentist better than the one you have.

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

Does Smile Direct Club Work?

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I keep seeing advertisements all over my facebook page for Smile Direct Club. I have always wanted to straighten my teeth but haven’t had quite enough money to jump on the Invisalign train. I looked into the smile direct cost and it is enough cheaper that I could do it. I do worry about safety with these do it by mail medical things though. Have you by any chance looked into Smile Direct or had patients that used them? If so, what impression did you get?

Lacey

Dear Lacey,

Smile Direct Club Ad

I am glad you wrote. I’ve actually looked into Smile Direct Club quite extensively. I want to be up to date on as much as possible. This treatment has worked for some people. For others, it has been a disaster. Let me go over the things that concern me about their process and then you can make a decision from there.

No Pre-Exam

The first thing that worries me is that they are beginning orthodontic treatment without a complete exam. In order to safely begin orthodontics you need x-rays, a full dental exam, as well as careful checking for periodontal disease. Without that, you risk serious complications. If you have periodontal disease and start moving your teeth around they can begin to come loose. This is a basic safety measure.

DIY Impressions

Another issue is the impressions. When a dentist does these for a company, such as Invisalign, they have to be perfect. That means no bubbles, no tears, or any other type of defect. This is such an important part of treatment that most dentists do not even let their dental assistants do it. With Smile Direct, you’re just given a home DIY kit and they make the best out of whatever you send them.

Inadequate Monitoring

With Invisalign or another invisible braces brand, your dentist follows up with you every two weeks. This is important because the human bodies are as unique and varied as personalities. Things do not always go exactly as planned and adjustments have to be made to keep the treatment on track. You will not get that with Smile Direct, nor does the average customer of theirs even have the training to recognize if something is not following the prescribed protocol.

Crowding

Most cases that need orthodontics are because of overcrowding in their bite. When that is the case, the patient will sometimes need an extraction in order to make space for your teeth to be in proper alignment. In some cases where not much space is needed, a dentist can carefully shave away some tooth structure to make the necessary room. With Smile Direct, there is no personal care and this process is short cut out.

If You Don’t Have Money for Invisalign

My suggestion is to wait and save to have this done right. You can also call around and see what brand of invisible braces other dentists use. Invisalign is not the only brand and some of them cost less and give great results all under the care of a dentist.

By the way, if you want to, your dentist can provide you with teeth whitening gel. The Invisalign aligners can double as bleaching trays allowing you to straighten and whiten your teeth at the same time.

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

Will Teeth Whitening Fix My Dental Bonding

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My dental bonding has been picking up stains. They used to be very white. I was hoping to get them back to where they were.

Karl

Dear Karl,

Before and After Dental Bonding

Unfortunately, teeth whitening will only whiten natural tooth structure. It will have no impact on your dental bonding. You didn’t mention how long you have had this bonding or what type of stains you are dealing with. That will have some impact on the best advice to give you. Here is some general help, though.

If your bonding still has the polish on it and you are dealing with surface stains, I am going to recommend Supersmile Toothpaste. Unlike most whitening toothpastes that use abrasives which damage your bonding, Supersmile uses an ingredient Calprox, which will enzymatically remove the stains. It does this by dissolving the protein pellicle on your teeth and the stains attach themselves to the pellicle. Get rid of the pellicle; get rid of the stains.

However, if the polish to your dental bonding is gone, then they have been damaged and the best thing you can do is have them re-done. If you haven’t had these long, then I would go back to your dentist and see if he or she will be willing to fix them. If you have had them a while, it may just be time to replace them. Dental bonding does not last nearly as long as porcelain veneers, so I would expect to replace them every few years.

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

Dental Bonding Turning Yellow in Under a Week

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I’m worried I did something that could have damaged my new dental bonding because I haven’t even had it a week yet and it is already turning yellow. The only thing I can think that could have possibly done anything is the baking soda I use to brush with. I’ve always brushed with baking soda but maybe there is a chemical reaction with the bonding material? I have no idea. Will getting my teeth whitened fix this or do I have to start over?

Kellie

Dear Kellie,

before and after dental bonding

Dental Bonding used to repair a chipped tooth

I am glad you reached out. Teeth whitening will only whiten natural tooth structure. Because of that, it will not be a help in getting your dental bonding back to its original color. However, there is a polishing your dentist can do that will get the color back up.

He (or she) obviously did not give you any instructions on how to care for these, which bothers me some. Because you’ve only had your dental bonding for under a week and he should have explained to you what type of toothpaste to use, it is my belief he should repair this for you free of charge.

Baking soda is fairly abrasive so it is possible that it damaged the surface and that is why it is picking up stains. I generally recommend patients who have cosmetic work done use Supersmile Toothpaste. It is proven to keep your teeth clean while not damaging either your natural tooth structure or your dental work. It’s fairly easy to order online.

If after your dentist repairs the surface, make certain you are using Supersmile. If this same thing happens, it may be an indication your dentist is using inferior materials and you would need a better cosmetic dentist to restore them. It won’t cost as much as having them redone.

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

Porcelain Veneers or Invisalign?

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I have been saving up for quite some time to get my smile makeover done. There’s nothing too major. I want the color whiter, there are some chips here and there, and I have one slightly crooked front tooth. It’s not crooked enough where I ever considered braces. However, my dentist is suggesting I have Invisalign done before getting the porcelain veneers. He said that way there wouldn’t be any need for tooth preparation because he’s using Lumineers. I am not too keen on the idea of adding another 9 months to my smile makeover. Is this completely necessary? I thought porcelain veneers could make a tooth look straight. Am I misunderstanding anything?

Patricia

Dear Patricia,

invisible braces

Bear in mind that I haven’t examined you, but I am skeptical of what your dentist is telling you. In almost all cases, you would either do porcelain veneers or Invisalign–not both. You had the right idea that porcelain veneers can make your teeth look straight. My guess is your dentist is trying to get you to do the Invisalign because he doesn’t know how to shape teeth with porcelain veneers.

He also suggested Lumineers for your case, which is a brand of porcelain veneers highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being “easy to place” because they don’t require tooth preparation. However, in most cases, Lumineers end up looking bulky without some tooth prep. Not to mention inexperienced cosmetic dentists do not generally know how to produce beautiful results. Smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school.

At this point, you have two choices if you want to get porcelain veneers, I would get them but with a different dentist. Look at their smile galleries to make sure you like the type of results they get. You want to know that they can produce beautiful, natural-looking smiles. Also, make sure they have some type of beautiful smile guarantee.

A second option is to do get Invisalign or another brand of invisible braces to straighten your teeth and whiten your teeth simultaneously using the clear aligners as teeth whitening trays. This will be significantly less expensive than porcelain veneers, but will take longer. You mentioned a few chips on your teeth. You didn’t mention how many or how large, but in most cases, these are repaired with some dental bonding.

Truthfully, wanting all three things repaired, which is what would be necessary for a complete result, the porcelain veneers will be a better idea. I just don’t think your current dentist is the one to do it. He sounds to be in over his head but not wanting to admit it.

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

Porcelain Veneers and Invisalign?

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I want to upgrade my smile. I need them whiter and my two front teeth are a tad crooked. I was thinking of getting porcelain veneers. My dentist suggested I get Lumineers, but before that he wants me to get Invisalign to straighten those two teeth. I just want to get a sort of “second opinion” before going through all that.

Amara

Dear Amara,

invisible braces

Bear in mind when I give you an answer that I haven’t seen your case, so I’m giving generalities here based on what you’ve written. In general, you would either do Invisalign or porcelain veneers, not both. Porcelain veneers can make your teeth look straight. You mentioned it is only your two front teeth which are crooked, which shouldn’t be too complicated. It’s possible your dentist is just in over his head and he doesn’t know how to fashion porcelain veneers except under the ideal conditions.

Rather than say that, he is suggesting you use Invisalign to fix the crooked teeth and then he’ll place Lumineers. That brings me to another reason I think he is in over his head. Lumineers is a particular brand of porcelain veneers that is heavily marketed to inexperienced dentists as being easy to place. Your case is a smidge more complicated.

You haven’t mentioned anything about needing or wanting to change the size and shape of your teeth. Aside from the front teeth, you’ve only mentioned wanting to whiten their color. If that’s the case, porcelain veneers may not be necessary.

You can whiten and straighten your teeth all at once using invisible braces, saving you thousands of dollars. My suggestion is you get Invisalign to straighten your teeth. The aligners can also double as teeth whitening trays. Your dentist simply has to provide you with the whitening gel. Wear the gel while you’re straightening your teeth. When you are done, you’ll have beautifully straight, white teeth.

Additionally, these two procedures are simple enough they can be done even by inexperienced cosmetic dentists. If you were to get porcelain veneers, I would recommend you go to someone with more expertise.

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

Will Invisalign Fix Misalignment?

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I went to see my dentist about Invisalign and he said that he looked into it years ago and it was only for certain basic orthodontic cases and didn’t feel it was worth it. Will Invisalign fix misalignment or do I have to go the whole traditional braces route? I’m about to start my first “professional” job and was really hoping not to look like I am still in Junior High School. As it is I look very young and I want to be taken seriously.

Meghan

Dear Meghan,

invisible braces

Congratulations on the beginning of your career journey! What an exciting time in your life. I completely understand you wanting to be taken seriously by all the old fogey’s who’ve been at their desk for so many years they’re almost melded into the furniture. Invisalign is the perfect way to do that.

Based on your dentist’s comment, I’m guessing he hasn’t looked at Invisalign since it first came out. Some dentists are better than others at keeping up with the technology in their field than others. While it is true that when this procedure was in its infancy, it only worked for the basic cases of misalignment. These days, it is a completely different story. It can handle all but the most complicated. So, this would be a perfect procedure for a young professional like yourself.

I would get a second opinion from a dentist with a lot of experience treating with invisible types of braces, such as Invisalign. They’ll be able to tell you if it will work for you. I have a feeling, unless you’ve got something rather strange going on that it will work just fine.

Mini Smile Makeovers with Invisalign

One hidden benefit of the aligners used to straighten your teeth is they can double as teeth whitening trays. This means you can straighten and whiten your teeth simultaneously without anyone even knowing. As it sounds like you are just out of college, you may not need the whitening yet. However, I recommend you save your last pair of aligners to use later down the line when you do feel like some brightening of your teeth will work.

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

Type 1 Diabetes and Dental Implants

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I recently lost my first tooth. I find it quite upsetting. I’ve been told that a dental implant is the best replacement for a tooth. However, I have type 1 diabetes. Will that keep me from being a candidate?

Tammy

Dear Tammy,

dental implant diagram

I’m sorry you lost a tooth. I certainly understand why it is upsetting. You made a good choice in wanting to get a dental implant. They are the closest to have a healthy natural tooth. While having type 1 diabetes does not necessarily keep you from being a candidate for getting a dental implant, it is a significant risk factor.

You will need special diagnostics to help pinpoint any additional possible risk factors. You’ll also want to be certain you go to a dentist who has done extensive training in the dental implant procedure. It is a complicated, advanced procedure and your situation makes it even more complicated.

Look at some of Dr. Marion’s qualifications to get an idea of the type of dentist you want to do your dental implant procedure.

Cosmetic Considerations

A dental implant procedure is done in two different stages. The first is the surgical stage, where the implant is placed to mimic your tooth root. The second is the restorative stage. This is where your dentist will create a dental crown to replace the tooth itself.

If you have never had a dental restoration you should know that whatever color your dentist makes it will be permanent. A dentist with good cosmetic skills will match the crown perfectly to your tooth. You’ll want to be certain your teeth are the color you want.

If you want to upgrade the brightness of your teeth, do the teeth whitening before you have the crown made. This way you can have the crown the color you will want permanently.

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

Is it Safe to Use Brands Other Than Invisalign?

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I went to see a dentist about getting Invisalign. He says I am a good candidate but doesn’t use the Invisalign brand. He prefers another one which he says gives him better treatment options. My question is, do other brands work as well or should I find a dentist who is trained in Invisalign?

Macy

Dear Macy,

invisible braces

While Invisalign was the first brand of invisible braces and it has the most name recognition, there are other brands that work very well. Dr. Marion prefers one of those other brands for his patients as well, though he doesn’t have anything against Invisalign.

He prefers the other brand for two reasons. First, the cost is less. That savings is passed onto his patients. Another reason is control. He gets more options to change treatment. This also benefits his patients. While many times treatment goes just the way it should be, our bodies are all unique and respond differently to the same treatments. When things aren’t going according to plan, the dentist needs the freedom to make the changes necessary to get things on track.

A Second Cosmetic Benefit of Invisible Braces

Everyone knows invisible braces will straighten your teeth. However, there is a second benefit that many patients never learn about. The clear aligners are so well-fitted to your teeth that they can double as teeth whitening trays. This will allow you to straighten and whiten your teeth simultaneously. This is like getting a mini smile makeover.

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