Archives for February 2020

Will Supersmile Whiten My Dental Bonding?

February 29, 2020 by writeradmin

I’ve had dental bonding on eight teeth for about ten years. They’re starting to pick up stains. I’ve heard Supersmile toothpaste is good at removing stains. Will that help with my situation or do I need to replace them?

Ellie

Dear Ellie,

Supersmile does a great job removing surface stains. It does it with an ingredient called Calprox, which dissolves the protein pellicles on your teeth. Stains attach to the pellicles and when they are dissolved the stains follow with it. One thing to be aware of is this works on surface stains only.

You mentioned your dental bonding is about ten years old. That is a long lifespan for bonding. My guess is they’ve been slowly picking up stains for a while. If those stains have become internal, there is nothing that will help. Even professional teeth whitening will only whiten natural tooth structure.

You can try the Supersmile toothpaste. I recommend it to anyone with any type of cosmetic work anyway because it does a wonderful job of keeping them bright without damaging the glazing. If that doesn’t work, then it means the stains are now internal and it is time to replace your bonding.

A More Permanent Solution for Your Smile Makeover

Dental Bonding is a great solution for small amounts of cosmetic work, such as chipped teeth or tooth gaps. It sounds like you were using them for a smile makeover. That’s fine, but you will get a significantly better, more permanent smile makeover with porcelain veneers.

There is one important factor in that. You will need an expert cosmetic dentist. Smile makeovers are an art form which are not taught in dental school. Because of that, you’ll want a dentist who invested a great deal of time or training in learning the art.

It is hard for patients to know which dentists have done this and which haven’t. There isn’t a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry. Because of that, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry began an accreditation program. Dentists who obtain AACD accreditation are in the top 1% of artistic dentists in the country. They can give you a stunning smile.

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

Getting a Smile Makeover Through Yelp?

February 24, 2020 by writeradmin

I’m having trouble deciding on which cosmetic dentist to use for my smile makeover. I’m looking at the top three recommended in Yelp. I was thinking of doing composite bonding because it is cheaper, but I can’t tell which of them would be better for that over porcelain veneers. Any advice?

Hannah

Dear Hannah,

AACD accredited dentists are in the top 1% in the country.

I’m glad you are writing. I think I can save you a lot of grief and wasted money. Let’s start with the way you’re going about finding the dentist you want to do your smile makeover. While Yelp is a great resource for many things, I don’t think its algorithms are going to be useful in this case.

They make their recommendations based on reviews. However, they don’t really make a distinction on what type of dental work is done. For instance, if you were to look at many of the reviews of those dentists, how many are based on their work doing smile makeovers? Most are likely just about how friendly the office is or some of the general dental work they’ve had done.

I’ll discuss how to get the best cosmetic dentist for your smile makeover in a moment. Before we do that I want to talk about the two procedures you were considering. You won’t find many great cosmetic dentists who will do a complete smile makeover with composite bonding. It actually takes significantly longer to do it with composite than porcelain and get it to look beautiful. Because of that, they’d actually end up having to charge you more. Plus, composite doesn’t last nearly as long as porcelain, so your investment isn’t as durable. Dental bonding is best done with small areas, such as repairing a chipped tooth or closing a tooth gap.

If you’re going to invest in a new smile and want it both beautiful and durable, then porcelain veneers would be the better investment for you.

Finding a Cosmetic Dentist for Your Smile Makeover

There isn’t a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry, nor is doing smile makeovers taught in dental school. That leaves patients in a bit of a quandary. Because of that, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry began an accreditation program. Dentists who pursue accreditation have to pass exams demonstrating their technical knowledge. They also have to demonstrate their artistry by presenting visual evidence of a large number of cases they’ve done. Those are examined carefully to ensure they meet the highest standards. Only then will they be accredited.

If I were getting a smile makeover, I would look for an AACD accredited dentist.

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

Can Porcelain Veneers be Re-done?

February 19, 2020 by writeradmin

I had four porcelain veneers placed. When he did the temporary ones, they were too long. I asked them the make sure they were a little shorter. However, they ended up too short. I wish I had gotten to see them the second time before they bonded them on. Plus, the two lateral incisors are different shapes, which looks weird to me. Is it possible to re-do porcelain veneers? Is it hard to do?

Caitlyn

Dear Caitlyn,

Yes, it is possible to have your porcelain veneers re-done. It’s hard on your dentist, but if you are paying for a beautiful smile makeover, that is what you should get. One word of warning, though. Technically, if the porcelain veneers are functional he doesn’t have to replace them, so be nice about it (not that I think you won’t).

It seems like your dentist is likely a decent family dentist but he doesn’t do a lot of cosmetic work. A true cosmetic dentist would never bond on y our porcelain veneers until you had a good look at them and approved. There is a temporary try-in paste he can use.

I agree that your lateral incisors shouldn’t be two different shapes. You don’t want them to be exactly the same, but you also don’t want them different enough to be distracting.

If he gives you trouble about re-doing them, one thing which may help is to see an expert cosmetic dentist for a second opinion. If he agrees they need to be replaced it will put some pressure on your dentist. He won’t want to look unskilled to a peer.

Finding an Expert Cosmetic Dentist

Because there isn’t a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry, it is hard for patients to know who has the skills to create beautiful smiles and who doesn’t. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry recognized that and started an accreditation program.

In order for a dentist to get accredited, they have to pass exams that demonstrate their technical knowledge as well as demonstrate their artistry by providing visual evidence of a large number of specific cases they’ve done.

If there is an AACD accredited dentist near you, that is who I would get to help you if your dentist doesn’t want to fix the veneers.

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

Titanium Versus Zirconia Implants

February 11, 2020 by writeradmin

I have two traditional titanium dental implants in my mouth. I recently read in a natural health magazine that they are discovering titanium can have a negative neurological impact. It’s got me worried about the current implants I have. Should I switch them to the zirconia implants? Are the zirconia better?

Carol

Dear Carol,

First, I want to assure you that you are safe. There is a lot of information swirling out there. Much of it causes unnecessary panic. Before believing anything, ask yourself if they cited the studies. When you looked at those studies were they done scientifically? I once read an article which cited a “study” where there was only one patient who suffered the negative effects discussed. To top that off, there was no direct correlation.

Titanium has been used as biological replacements, including joint replacements, for decades now and is one of the most biologically compatible materials out there. I’m am aware of no legitimate studies indicating there are any negative neurological effects.

I rarely recommend replacing dental implants which are thriving well. The reason for that is you will lose bone structure as a result of removing the implants. In order to place new implants in, you would have to add an additional bone grafting procedure to build back up the bone. Then, after that heals you’d need another surgery with the zirconia implants. In my opinion, that is too great a risk. However, that is not my decision to make. You have to do what makes the most sense to you.

As to whether or not the metal-free dental implants are better, there isn’t a way to answer that…yet. While we have decades of data on titanium implants along with their longevity, zirconia is in the newer stages of use in dental restorations. Therefore, we don’t have long-term data on them yet. It doesn’t mean they are better or worse. Just that we don’t know.

The bigger key to any dental implant success is the training and experience of the dentist doing the procedure. I hope this helps.

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