Today I have been looking at photographs of smile makeover cases done with DURAthin veneers. I must say that I’m impressed.
I’ve been critical on mynewsmile.com and in this blog of Lumineers. They are a brand of ultra-thin porcelain veneers, and I have yet to see a photograph of a Lumineers case that I felt showed beautiful cosmetic dentistry.
But all the photographs of DURAthin veneers that I examined today looked beautiful, and it caused me to wonder about the difference. DURAthin is also an ultra-thin porcelain, and is sometimes used in a no-prep situation.
The main difference, I believe, is in the laboratory work. Lumineers, because of trademark restrictions, have to be made in the DenMat laboratory, which is a large, commercial, impersonal dental lab. My opinion, and that of other cosmetic dentists I have spoken with, is that the DenMat lab produces mediocre esthetic results. DURAthin, however, allows any laboratory technician to use it, so a dentist can have his or her own master ceramist create the smile.
I think another difference is in the dentists they attract and the way the products are promoted. Lumineers are promoted to general dentists as being very easy to place and very lucrative. Consequently, they attract many dentists who really don’t know what they’re doing when they get into esthetics. Thus, I get many e-mails from their upset clients. DURAthin is taught almost as an elite technique, and the dentists that place them seem to be fairly sophisticated as far as esthetics. For example, Dr. Nils Olson, a mynewsmile.com recommended dentist who has been chosen as the new chairperson of accreditation in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and thus could be considered at the pinnacle of excellence, uses DURAthin in his practice. Dentists like this will use a no-prep technique only when it can produce superior results. Otherwise, they will take advantage of the thinness of DURAthin by doing an ultra-conservative preparation, very possibly in enamel only, which may require no novocain and which could be likened to a mere dusting of the enamel surface.
Anyway, I’m soliciting more DURAthin photographs from our expert cosmetic dentists, and keeping an eye out, and will keep visitors to this blog and website posted.
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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.