Archives for December 2020

Brown Spots on Teeth

December 29, 2020 by writeradmin

My teeth are very healthy. I’ve never even had a cavity. However, I have these ugly brown spots on several teeth, including my very front teeth. My dentist and I have been trying all the over the counter teeth whitening brands, but they all seem to make it look worse. My dentist is wondering if she should grind the brown spots off, but admitted she doesn’t know if it would work or how far she’d have to grind. That sort of makes me nervous. Would professional teeth whitening work any better?

Mazie

Dear Mazie,

I am very glad you wrote. It sounds like you have a dentist who cares about you, but she is in way over her head. Please don’t let her experiment on you any longer. She will end up doing inadvertent permanent damage to your teeth. Cosmetic dentistry isn’t taught in dental school. In order for dentists to learn these procedures, they have to take post-doctoral classes. To do it well they need a lot of time invested in the training. Your dentist hasn’t done that yet. That’s okay. Some dentists just prefer to be a general dentist and help people have healthy teeth. Obviously, together the two of you have accomplished that.

Teeth whitening, even professional strength, will not work on the type of stains you are dealing with. As you have discovered with the over-the-counter brands, it makes them look worse. This is because the whitening gel bleaches the teeth evenly. It doesn’t change the unevenness in the color.

Solution for Brown Spots

You have two good options available to you. The first is dental bonding. The second is porcelain veneers. If there are just a few brown spots and you are happy with every other aspect of your teeth, I’d recommend the dental bonding. It’s less expensive.

However, if the brown spots are extensive or if there are other things about your teeth you’d like to change then I’d recommend porcelain veneers. These are the go-to for total smile makeovers and can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth simultaneously. They are more expensive but do more and last years longer.

Finding a Qualified Cosmetic Dentist

Even though smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school, there isn’t a recognized specialty for cosmetic dentistry either. That means it is up to the dentist how much, if any, cosmetic training they get before treating patients. This makes it tricky for patients to know who can create beautiful smiles and who can’t.

I always suggest patients pick their dentist from the mynewsmile.com website. This site is run by a retired cosmetic dentist. He prescreens any dentist who wants to be listed to ensure they have not only the right technical knowledge but the artistry required to create a beautiful smile as well. Any dentists he lists will be able to give you the stunning smile you’ve always wanted.

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

Splotchy Teeth After Braces

December 20, 2020 by writeradmin

My daughter had braces. Before the braces, her teeth looked uniform in color. Now they are splotchy. Is there something we can do to repair this?

Pauline

Dear Pauline,

When teeth are splotched after braces, it is generally white spots. These are decalcification spots. It means the enamel in that area is weakened because they didn’t get thoroughly clean during her braces treatment. This happens quite a bit. It is rather difficult getting between all those metal wires and brackets. Plus, they trap things there. Hopefully, her dentist or orthodontist had the foresight to instruct her to keep a toothbrush and toothpaste with her at all times so that she can brush after each meal.

Decalcification spots are pre-cavities, so you do want to treat them. The best treatment is to have the spots gently ground off and then use dental bonding to protect the area.

One word of caution. This isn’t a procedure I would recommend your average family dentist do. You want someone who can blend the composite perfectly to her teeth so that it looks natural. This takes advanced cosmetic dentistry training. Make sure your dentist has that before moving forward.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss. Click here to learn about AACD accredited dentists.

They Should Be Worried About Their Smile Makeover

December 5, 2020 by writeradmin

My husband and I went to a local dentist who advertised smile makeovers with Lumineers. We were both excited about getting our smile re-done. Our impressions were taken and we were told it would be two weeks. About the time they were supposed to be in, the dentist called and told us that the impressions were bad and we’d need to come in and have them re-done. It seems odd to me that they were still on the impression part when they were supposed to be done. Should I be concerned? Do you think we’ll actually get them? We’ve already paid upfront.

Miranda

Dear Miranda,

I am not concerned that you will not get them. I feel certain you will get them. The thing I am concerned about though is whether you’ll be happy with them. There are some things here that concern me. The first is the impressions. It doesn’t bother me that the first impressions were not good and needed to be re-done. That can happen from time to time even at the best of cosmetic offices. What does worry me is how long it took them to tell you.

I obviously wasn’t with your dentist but I can tell you what it sounds like to me. The lab would have known fairly quickly that the impressions were not good, so why didn’t they call you then? My guess is your dentist felt embarrassed that the impressions weren’t good. Maybe he or she is insecure about their cosmetic skills and they don’t have a ton of experience. Maybe they didn’t realize everyone has bad impressions now and again. Either way, for it to go that long they would have had to try to tell the lab to try anyway. After some effort, the lab called back saying the impressions were unworkable. Now they have to call you to re-do them.

Lumineers are a particular brand of porcelain veneers that are often marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. However, doing smile makeovers is not taught in dental school; nor is cosmetic dentistry a recognized specialty. A dentist has to invest in post-doctoral training in order to learn how to create beautiful smiles. Lumineers just requires them to do a single seminar and then the dentist is officially “Lumineers Certified”.

Unfortunately, that isn’t enough. Most patients who go to dentists with this type of training end up disappointed at best. Here is how you can prevent that. When the Lumineers come in, tell your dentist you want them to try them on with a temporary try-in paste. This is to give you time to look at them and decide if you love them. If you don’t, they should go back to the lab to make any changes you request. They shouldn’t get permanently bonded on until you are thrilled with them.

I suggest you call the dentist now and ask them to agree to this. If they don’t, ask for a refund. Then go to a great cosmetic dentist with extensive cosmetic training. The best cosmetic dentists are AACD accredited. Don’t be surprised if they suggest a different brand of porcelain veneers.

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

Covering Tetracycline Stains

December 4, 2020 by writeradmin

My twin sister and I both have tetracycline stains. Several years ago, she had porcelain veneers placed on her teeth, but they looked a bit fake. The dentist said the only way to adequately cover the stains was to make them opaque. I am hoping the technology has improved some since then and I can get a beautiful, natural-looking smile. I really do hate my smile.

Avery

Dear Avery,

I am not sure if you will want to tell your sister this or not, but the technology has been around for a long time to make porcelain veneers look beautiful on tetracycline stains. While your sister chose the right procedure, it sounds like she likely picked the wrong dentist.

Cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. That means any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist. To make matters even more challenging for the patient, smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school. It is up to the dentist to invest in the post-doctoral training necessary to do the work properly.

While choosing your cosmetic dentist carefully is important for any smile makeover, tetracycline stains are among the most difficult type of cosmetic cases there are. You can tell by your sister’s case that it is a challenge to get the porcelain veneers opaque enough to cover the stains, but still translucent enough to look natural.

If I were in your position, I would only go to a dentist who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists are the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They’ve passed stringent exams as well as an examination board that has examined a large number of cases the dentist completed for both technical skill and artistry.

You find an AACD accredited dentist, you’ll find a dentist that can give you a stunning smile.

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