Dr. Hall,
I just want to improve my smile. I have straight teeth. The problems that I want to correct are:
1) My teeth are kind of yellow—I’ve tried whitening through dental offices, not getting results I want
2) I would like to file down some of my teeth to make them look staighter, especially my fangs.
3) My two upper front teeth I’d like to put a little porcelain on the top because those teeth are thinning.
What do you suggest I do to improve:
a) the whiteness to the fullest
b) the filing of some teeth
c) the upper front teeth (pertaining problem #3)
I was considering Lumineers, but after considering the cost and the problems, I don’t think it would be to my best interest to do this. Are there any other options to do what I want to correct and get the best results of what I am looking for?
What I’m finding is that people are not saying how much. I thought approx. $1000 – $2000 for a group of teeth, not per tooth. …that’s insane…..
Hopefully, as I meet with dentists who proclaim they do cosmetic dentistry, they can do what I want at a reasonable price.
Any advice you can give me, would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!
Thank you sooo….much, in advance.
Diana in San Francisco
Dear Diana,
Wanting a new smile when you have the appearance issues that you have sounds reasonable. And your solution would be porcelain veneers. But a couple of things you said make me think you’re headed for trouble, and maybe you should wait and not do anything.
First of all, if you want this new smile done right, you should plan on $1000 to $2000 per tooth. That is what it costs. What worries me is that you’ll find someone who will do it for less. Only 1-2% of dentists are artistic enough and trained enough in cosmetic dentistry to create a beautiful smile, and they are all going to be up in that price range, maybe higher.
The second thing that worries me is that you said, “I meet with dentists who proclaim they do cosmetic dentistry…” If you don’t understand the difference between an artistic dentist who can create a beautiful smile and a dentist who simply proclaims that he or she does cosmetic dentistry, then you should hold off on this until you do understand. We get so much mail from people who learn this lesson the hard way. Cosmetic dentistry isn’t a legally recognized specialty, and this means that it is totally unregulated. Any dentist can proclaim they do this without any accreditation or certification. Often they are genuinely nice people who simply have no artistic sense and in their own minds they do beautiful work. That is the whole reason I run this website—to keep people out of this kind of trouble. Click here to read about this difference between a cosmetic dentist an a general dentist.
My advice is to save up your money until you can get this done right. Or, if you really don’t want to spend that much, then just adjust to the way your teeth are. They don’t sound like they really look that bad. Otherwise you may be writing to me after this is over and asking how you can get your own smile back because it was better than the new one.
Good luck,
Dr. Hall
Related links:
Read about the cost of cosmetic dentistry
Read about the cost of porcelain veneers
Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question
Click here for referral to a cosmetic dentist
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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