Dr. Hall,
I read on your page that Lumineers may be a little lower priced than the common cost of veneers that run approximately $1500 apiece. Can you recommend a dentist within an hour’s drive of me, where I may work with a dentist to do a Lumineers remake of my smile in the less than $1500 price range?
– Mike in Illinois
Dear Mike,
Before answering your question, I have a couple of comments.
First, let’s say you can do eight teeth with Lumineers for a new smile and you found a dentist willing to charge only $1125 apiece. And then let’s say you found a dentist who would charge $1450 apiece. The cheap dentist is just a dentist – not an artist, and your teeth would end up a little bulky and funny looking. It would cost $9000. And at the end, your teeth would be straight and whiter but kind of funny-looking. Or, you could go to the other dentist and for $11,600 you could get an absolutely stunning smile, with another brand of porcelain veneers, because this dentist is an artist and is also fully trained in cosmetic dentistry, with a passion for beauty. Which would you choose?
I’m reflecting this back to you, because this seems to me what you’re asking. You’re saying to me that you don’t care how artistic the dentist is or how your teeth end up looking, as long as you can get something pasted over the top of your teeth. You just want the best price. But cosmetic dentistry isn’t like general dentistry. Dentists are trained to fix things, and they generally do a pretty good job of that, with some exceptions. You have a broken tooth, they fix it. You’re in pain, they get you out of pain. But when it comes to creating a great-looking smile, dentists aren’t trained to do that. It takes a dentist with artistic talent and passion to do that, and only a small minority of dentists can pull that off. Oh, you would end up with teeth that would be white and probably would be straight, but they would be about two millimeters longer than your present teeth and would likely be bulky and funny-looking. I don’t know why you would want to spend $9000 for that, when for a little more you could get a truly fabulous smile.
Here’s what I’d recommend: Drop the idea that you HAVE TO HAVE Lumineers, and go for the end result. You’re always better off to pick the dentist/artist and let them use the brand of porcelain they’re most comfortable with. You get into all kinds of trouble when you pick the brand and then ask a dentist to do that brand and no other. You’re in the Chicago area, and we have a number of excellent cosmetic dentists that we list there (see our Illinois cosmetic dentists page). Call each office and ask what the fee is for porcelain veneers. See if you can find a great cosmetic dental office that will talk money with you and that will be in your price range. I bet you’ll find a great cosmetic dentist who will be within your price range. But if you don’t, then my advice is to save up your money for a little longer and get it done right.
I hope this is helpful.
– Dr. Hall
Related links:
Cost of Lumineers
Cost of porcelain veneers
Post-operative care of porcelain veneers
Click here to find 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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