1.How natural veneer can be? I don’t want that veneer looks unnatural, is it possible that veneer have the exact shape like my natural tooth? 2. Color of the veneer can be perfectly like my other teeth? I don’t want and I don’t need any smile makeover I just wanna close that fracture. At the end, do i really need veneer for that small gap? (your opinion) I hope you wiil respond to this mail, Thank you in advance!
- Luka from Croatia

Luka,
A porcelain veneer, if done by an expert cosmetic dentist, looks very natural. But if done by your average family dentist it can look very fake. In your case, where your chip isn’t too noticeable, you could end up looking worse than if you had done nothing.

If you have a small chip in a front tooth, the best way to repair that is with composite bonding. The dentist just roughens the surface near where you tooth chipped, and applies a composite material that is bonded to the tooth. It can last a long time–years. If the repair is small, it doesn’t take a lot of artistic talent to get it to look good. Larger repairs require some artistic ability to get them to blend in with the tooth and look natural.

I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Hall

Sally,
Lumineers is just a particular brand of porcelain veneers, so I will answer your question by talking about porcelain veneers in general.

I am getting the feeling from what you’re telling me that your dentist is uncomfortable with these cosmetic procedures. Porcelain veneers are usually not taught in dental school, and, while they work great for dentists who know how to do them, they can be intimidating for dentists who don’t. I think this is where your dentist is coming from.

One firm rule I always tell people is to not ever push your dentist out of his or her comfort zone. I have received so many e-mails from people who have really gotten burned trying to do this. Dentists are trained not to let you know when they are uncomfortable because it makes patients nervous. You’re lucky that your dentist is giving you these clues. He feels you would be unhappy with the result, and in his hands, you may well be unhappy. But porcelain veneers are a very beautiful restoration when done right.

So my advice is to stay with your regular dentist for your cleanings, checkups, and general dental work, but to find an expert cosmetic dentist to solve this particular problem.

If you otherwise love your smile and the only problem is this one dark tooth, then if it were me doing it, I would just do either direct bonding or one porcelain veneer over this tooth. If there are other things you don’t like about other teeth, then a full set of porcelain veneers may be in order. But find a true dentist/artist for this. Go to our list of recommended Northern California cosmetic dentists. If you’re not convinced you need an expert, please, for your own sake, take the time to read through some of the cosmetic dentistry horror stories that people have told me, and then you’ll be convinced that the average dentist on the corner is no place to go for this appearance-related work.
- Dr. Hall

Donna,
First of all, I probably wouldn’t recommend that she go to “her dentist” for this work. Somewhere around 98% to 99% of family dentists are not artistic enough to do a smile makeover. So I would start with a second opinion from an expert cosmetic dentist – unless she has lucked out and her dentist is a highly qualified cosmetic dentist.

Second, if this bonding is going to cost 1/5 the cost of veneers, I seriously question the quality of it. It takes as much time to do direct bonding that looks good as it takes to do porcelain veneers. Either this dentist is giving you a ridiculous sale price, or the dental bonding is not a very high quality. Beware.

I’m suspecting, if these teeth are “peg teeth,” that they are actually lateral incisors and not canines. That would explain about the four veneers being suggested – the two lateral incisors and the two central incisors. Why does she need the four veneers? Maybe the reason is that this dentist doesn’t have the confidence that he or she can match the two veneers to the existing teeth.

Pardon me if I’m off base on any assumptions I’m making. I would need more information to make an accurate recommendation. If I knew who the dentist was and what he or she expects to accomplish with the extra veneers, I could be more helpful. But if what I suspect is true is indeed true, that this dentist is only a family dentist who does some cosmetic dentistry, then I would recommend one of two options:

1. Go to an expert cosmetic dentist and get two porcelain veneers. If the dentist is good at cosmetic dentistry, most cases of peg lateral incisors can be corrected with two porcelain veneers and maybe some minor shaping of the adjacent teeth.
2. If you want to get by as cheaply as possible, for now have this dentist slap on some composite on these peg teeth and get by with this for a year or so and then later go somewhere and get it done right, so it really looks good.

I hope this is helpful.
Dr. Hall

Links:
Gentle dentistry Los Angeles from Dr. Robert Thein
Los Angeles teeth bleaching is also from Dr. Robert Thein

Doreen,
Don’t have the dentist who did the bleaching do the veneers or the bonding. She doesn’t sound like she knows what she is doing. It sounds like you have figured that out.

Teeth bleaching doesn’t work for splotched teeth. I shake my head every time I hear one of these stories, that another dentist doesn’t know how to do this.

Depending on the extent of the stains, yes, direct dental bonding may be the best thing – this would cover up the stains. And thank you for asking for our recommendation. But even Amarillo is a problem. I just looked there again and can’t find anyone I would recommend.
And, as I check a map, I see that you are clear out in a remote rural area of the Texas panhandle. I know it’s going to be a 4-5 hour trip, but if you want this done right, I would really suggest you go to Oklahoma City. Very few dentists are going to know how to do this right, and they tend to gravitate to larger cities. In Texas, they go to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and other parts of east and central texas. I have looked in West Texas and only last month did I finally find someone in Lubbock that I would refer patients to. And we can’t yet find anyone in Amarillo.

Dental bonding is an art. It has to be done freehand, and they simply don’t teach it in dental school. And dentists have to be passionate about appearance-related dentistry to know how to do it well and to stock the materials on hand to be able to do it right.

I would recommend Dr. Michael Forth in Edmond, OK. That’s a northern suburb of Oklahoma City. He does beautiful work.
Good luck,
Dr. Hall

Read more about stained teeth.

Deanna,
I get so aggravated hearing of situations like yours. This sounds to me like a dentist who doesn’t know what he or she is talking about, and I strongly suggest getting a second opinion from an expert cosmetic dentist. I’m on a plane answering this question, so I don’t have access to any maps, but hopefully Summerville is near one of the cosmetic dentists we recommend in South Carolina. Even if it isn’t, it would be worth several hours’ drive to get this done right.

Maybe I don’t fully understand your situation. Do you have root canal treatments on your front teeth? From what you’re telling me, the only problem is the color. If that is true, crowns are overkill, and internal bleaching isn’t possible. I don’t understand where this dentist gets this idea. For crowns, your front teeth have to be ground down to stubs. And if this dentist knows as little about cosmetic dentistry as your e-mail makes it sound, I have grave concerns about how these crowns would look when he or she is done with you. Don’t let him or her grind your teeth down.

And six teeth aren’t a smile. Don’t be surprised if a real cosmetic dentist suggests doing eight or ten teeth. When the teeth are dark and the front six teeth are made considerably lighter, the result looks really weird.

Depending on what your teeth look like, the amount of discoloration, and their general health, you either need simple teeth bleaching or conservative porcelain veneers bonded onto the fronts of your front eight or ten teeth. Anything more is overtreatment.

Good luck.

Dr. Hall

(see Care of Cosmetic Dental Work)

Dr. Young,
It’s not that the alcohol dissolves it—it softens the resin. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I’ve known it almost since I started doing any bonding. It was a frequent source of discussion in American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry circles, and we advised patients with extensive direct dental bonding to even avoid alcohol-containing mouthwashes.

I also saw the effects in my patients. If they used excessive amounts of alcohol frequently, the composite work would come back looking seriously pitted and worn after only a year or two. It’s not so noticeable if it’s smaller bonding work, but they can ruin a complete composite veneer, for example.

Dr. Hall

Other links:
Read about DURAthin porcelain veneers.
Dr. Abraham Abaie is a Scottsdale dentist.

Thank you for your time,
- Vicki from California

Vicki,
If your tooth is fine and not infected, then there is no reason to have a root canal treatment. When a tooth is bumped hard enough, it can sever its blood supply, and it will die, develop an abscess, and turn dark. It will need a root canal. But if it’s bumped lightly, often it will later develop thicker dentin and will look dark but will be perfectly healthy.

If the tooth is healthy, it just needs some type of veneer to change the color. But the degree of color manipulation required for a single tooth is difficult for about 98% of dentists. If the dentist is artistic enough, often he or she will prefer to use direct dental bonding, because that way you can see the color as you go. Or, a single porcelain veneer works excellently for this situation also, with the porcelain veneer made by a dental laboratory.

But don’t go to the dentist on the corner for this – the color matching required is too difficult. I’d recommend one of the cosmetic dentists on our list, because they are screened for artistic ability.

I’d expect to pay $1300 to $2000 to get this done right.
- Dr. Hall

Pam,
When teeth are splotchy-looking right after getting braces off and they weren’t that way before, it’s probably because they weren’t really good about brushing their teeth while the braces were on. When you’re wearing braces, it’s a good idea to carry a toothbrush with you, because you need to get all that gunk off after each time you eat, or it will damage your enamel.

And since this is a situation that involves damaged tooth enamel, yes, your dental insurance is probably obligated to pay benefits. But there are a couple of cautions here.

First, your dental insurance is only obligated to pay for repairing the physical damage, and they will probably pay at a very minimal level. Don’t think of them as “covering” the repair, because that implies they will pay for the whole thing. Think of it as that they will “help” pay for the repair. You’ll want this done in a way that looks beautiful and natural. Your insurance is only committed to making the repair be functional.

Second, don’t let your family dentist do this. You want an expert cosmetic dentist. This may cost a little more, but the repair may involve free-hand tooth bonding or even porcelain veneers. You need a dentist-artist, and only 1 or 2 percent of dentists are artistic enough to produce a beautiful result with your front teeth.

- Dr. Hall

Click here to find an expert cosmetic dentist.
Teeth bleaching WILL NOT WORK for these splotches. Read our cosmetic dentistry horror story about how teeth bleaching made splotched teeth worse.

They don’t respond to bleach. And when I brush them, they look worse, because you can see the difference in the color between the fillings and the teeth more clearly.

My dentist has talked to me about Lumineers, and I wonder if this would help or if the color of the fillings would show through. What is the best thing for me to do?

- Ana in New Jersey

Dear Ana,
The answer to your question is actually fairly simple. I think you’re making it too complicated. You have discolored fillings because the dentist that did them didn’t know how to make them match your teeth.

There are bonding materials that are used for fillings that have every tooth shade under the sun, and they can mimic your natural teeth in translucency, in gloss, and in texture. So you just need a dentist who knows how to do this. See our dental bonding page to see how beautiful these fillings can be.

Whatever you do, don’t do Lumineers. They will make your teeth longer, and they will be bulky. And if you’re happy with the shapes of your teeth, there is no point to doing Lumineers – that’s overtreatment that you don’t need. The problem is the fillings, so just get the fillings fixed.

Check our list of New Jersey cosmetic dentists. Any one of them that we list would be able to do your fillings so that your teeth will look beautiful. I screen these dentists carefully and am confident of their artistic abilities.

One caveat – if your fillings are so large that they cover maybe 1/3 or more of the surface of your teeth, it may be best to shave down the fillings a little and put regular porcelain veneers over them. But not Lumineers.

Good luck,
Dr. Hall

Related links:
Find a cosmetic dentist close to you.

I want to thank you for providing a wonderful informative site for FREE to the public. The patients you served during your career must have appreciated your care, talent, and quality of service.

I’m sure you can help direct me with my concerns. I have severe erosion at the gum line of my 3rd, 4th, and 5th teeth back from my center teeth at both top, bottom, left and right sides. I first had bondings done for the erosion areas only and they matched my teeth well and lasted 10-20 years. All my attempts to have them replaced with the same performance and quality have failed. Two years ago I had the majority of them replaced by a young dentist. They began falling out within a month so he replaced a couple and they also fell out quickly.

I’m very skeptical about returning though my family encourages me he will fix it without charge. Do you think it is too late to expect any refund so I can get appropriate help from a Cosmetic Dentist?

Should I attempt bondings again or porcelain veneers? I also have not mentioned that my teeth are discolored from Tetracycline when my adult teeth were developing.
Sincerely, Carolyn from Texas

Carolyn,
Thanks for your question and your kind comments.

The answer to how to restore your teeth is actually quite simple, but dentists who aren’t trained in advanced cosmetic dentistry techniques often don’t know this answer.

Recent research has revealed that these notch-shaped lesions at the gumlines of your teeth are actually caused by FLEXING of the teeth, which is aggravated by clenching of the teeth. They have been given the name “abfraction lesions.”

To get the restorations to stay in, the dentist needs to use a FLEXIBLE restorative material, which is counter-intuitive for most dentists. They think they need to use a very strong, hard restorative, but that type tends to pop out within a month or so.

If your dentist will use a microfill composite for these lesions, rather than a hybrid, that will go a long way toward helping them to stay in. Microfills are more flexible than hybrids. He should use something like Silux Plus, or Renamel. That will bend with the tooth and stay in usually for a number of years, provided that proper bonding techniques are used. Newer composites tend to be hybrids and microhybrids that don’t flex well, which may be why the older fillings stayed in for so long.

If your dentist is humble enough to take some direction, just sharing this information should be enough. If he isn’t, then you may need to seek out a refund and go to a more expert cosmetic dentist.

As far as your tetracycline stains, that is a more complicated issue. A set of beautiful porcelain veneers would totally transform your smile. But you definitely need a highly artistic, very competent cosmetic dentist for that, such as we recommend on our web site. Check our list of Texas cosmetic dentists. Don’t go to your family dentist for this – it is much too difficult, in spite of what they might tell you.

I hope this is helpful.
Dr. Hall.

Related links:
Dental bonding