Archives for November 2019

Cracked Porcelain Veneer

Posted on November 29, 2019 by writeradmin.

I received a huge bonus and decided to invest it on my smile. I had porcelain veneers done about three months ago. My teeth were quite small the excellent cosmetic dentist I went to made them longer. My smile is gorgeous. I can’t tell you how often I smile these days. This morning I noticed a horizontal crack about a 1/3 of the way down the tooth. Will it fall off? I spent all my bonus to get these veneers. I don’t think I can afford to get it replaced. I honestly don’t think I did anything to it. I’ve taken great care of the teeth. What do you recommend I do?

Portia

Dear Portia,

I truly don’t think your dentist will blame you for what happened to your porcelain veneer. If a patient abused their porcelain veneers, it would show up as chips, not a horizontal crack. Plus, as you’ve said, patients generally love their new smile makeover so much they take great care of their porcelain veneers.

While often a cracked porcelain veneer is in no danger of falling off due to the bonding procedure, based on the fact that they needed to make your teeth longer, I’d be a little concerned it doesn’t have much to hold on to, especially given where you said the crack was located. I think this veneer will need to be replaced.

I know you’re worried about money, however, given the short amount of time you’ve had the veneer, I think it is very likely they will not charge you to replace it, especially if you explain the financial situation and what allowed you to get your smile makeover to begin with, he’ll be compassionate about the replacement.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Dental Insurance for Dental Implants

Posted on November 19, 2019 by writeradmin.

I want to replace all of my teeth with dental implants. They are in pretty bad shape and I want a smile I can be proud of. Is there a dental insurance that will cover these?

Kevin C.

Dear Kevin,

When you say your teeth are in pretty bad shape, you didn’t specify whether you meant in appearance or in health. If it is just an appearance issue, getting dental implants would be an overtreatment. This is designed for patients who need to replace their teeth because they have to be removed as a result of decay and infections. If that’s not you, a great cosmetic dentist can create a stunning smile for you, while enabling you to keep your natural teeth using porcelain veneers.

If, however, the teeth are unhealthy and have to be removed, then dental implants will be the right way to go. If you already have dental insurance, they will cover part of the cost but probably not as much as you would hope. Dental insurance tends to only want to cover the least expensive option. For tooth replacements, that is dentures. Though I only recommend dentures as an absolute last resort for reasons I’ll go over in a moment.

If you don’t already have dental insurance, be aware that most policies have a waiting period for anything other than cleanings and checkups. That may defeat the purpose if your teeth need to come out right away.

Why Not Dentures?

Jawbone shrinkage results in facial collapse

When your teeth are removed, your body begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere. This is in an effort to be efficient with its resources. Unfortunately, this also has the result of slowly shrinking your jawbone. Eventually, you won’t have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. This is known as facial collapse.

Getting dental implants signals to your body your jawbone is still necessary and will leave the minerals in place, thereby protecting you from facial collapse.

Implant Overdentures

Implant overdentures are a combination of dental implants and dentures

You don’t have to get a dental implant for every tooth. Instead, you can get implant overdentures. This will use between four and six dental implants and will anchor a set of dentures to them. This has the benefit of being more affordable while still providing you with all the benefits of dental implants.

If You Want a Stunning Smile

Whether you get dental implants or porcelain veneers, you still need a dentist who is skilled in cosmetic dentistry to give you that gorgeous smile you want. The top cosmetic dentists are AACD accredited. When you’re looking for natural results that look great, then you need to see an accredited dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Dental Bonding Color Doesn’t Match

Posted on November 11, 2019 by writeradmin.

I need advice on how to help my sweet grandaughter. She’s not confrontational but paid over $1,000 to have teeth whitening and dental bonding done to improve the look of her smile. Her lateral incisors ended up gray, which is much darker than her natural teeth and even more so after the teeth whitening was done. She asked the dentist about it and he told her the lateral incisors are supposed to be darker. I just don’t buy that. She’s too nice to argue with her dentist but I know she is embarrassed by this and doesn’t smile as much. After paying that much money, she should be happy to smile. What can she do?

Andy

Dear Andy,

Your gut feeling is right. The lateral incisors should NOT be darker than her central incisors, as you can see from this case done by Dr. Weiss above. In fact, in many cases, they are actually slightly lighter. The dentist who did your grandaughter’s dental bonding either doesn’t know that, which means he doesn’t understand his own craft, or he isn’t honest and is making stuff up to shut her up. Neither of those options are good.

You have two choices in helping your granddaughter. The first is to ask the dentist to re-do the teeth which are too dark. Truthfully, I’m not sure you will get any better results the second time around. A true cosmetic dentist would not be satisfied with a case if their patient wasn’t thrilled. They certainly wouldn’t make up some excuse as to why his bad results are “good”.

Your second option is probably the best. That is where you ask him to cover the expense of having this done right with a different cosmetic dentist. She paid for a beautiful smile and didn’t get it. Additionally, he wasn’t honest. You can feel free to show him this post if it will help with her case.

Where to go to Get Her Dental Bonding Done Correctly

You need an expert cosmetic dentist to re-do her case. Smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school and cosmetic dentistry isn’t a recognized specialty. If a dentist wants to excel at it, they have to invest in post-doctoral training themselves. Most just dabble. She needs an artist, especially with dental bonding which is done freehand.

I suggest, if at all possible to take your granddaughter to see a dentist who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists are the top in the country. They not only have to pass stringent exams to show they understand the technical process of their craft, but they also have to provide visual evidence of their artistry.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Can Dental Bonding by Safely Removed?

Posted on November 7, 2019 by writeradmin.

I have dental bonding I’m not too thrilled with. I’m moving and want to find a better cosmetic dentist. However, before I do anything I wanted to ask if it is possible to remove dental bonding without damaging the tooth. Have you had experience with that?

Mazie

Dear Mazie,

Yes, it is possible to safely remove dental bonding on two conditions: First, you must go to a dentist who understands the procedure and has the equipment. Second, the dental bonding has to be attached to the enamel of your tooth and not the soft dentist which is beneath the enamel.

Here are three ways to safely remove dental bonding:

Sandpaper disks

Dentists use these to polish composites. These are probably the easiest for a dentist to use for this particular job. They are flexible enough to form to the shape of the tooth and leave a nice smooth, polished tooth surface.

Carbide Drills

These have a high-speed. If the dentist is able to use them with light pressure, they will do the job faster than the sandpaper disks. Their big disadvantage is they tend to leave streaks of material on the tooth. If a dentist uses this, they’ll want to finish up with the sandpaper disks to get that nice smooth finish.

Air Abrasion

It will be hard to find dentists who have this equipment. It’s not as commonly used as the other options.

Getting Your Beautiful Smile

Whether you just have a dentist re-do your dental bonding or you get a full smile makeover with porcelain veneers, you want to make sure you have an expert cosmetic dentist do the work. In your place, I’d look for a dentist who is AACD Accredited. These are the top cosmetic dentists in the country.

Some, less experienced dentists, will try to tell you if you get Lumineers they will be reversible. This is absolutely not true. They say this because they are marketed as a no-prep veneer. However, the material in porcelain veneers, including the Lumineers brand is much harder than the composite material and the tooth will almost positively end up damaged in the removal process.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.