Dr. Hall,
I have large teeth in a small mouth. I chipped one of my front teeth and my dentist recommened porcelain veneers. He is a general dentist but showed me a book of his veneer work. I looked at all the pictures and I can find no one with big teeth. Everyone has small teeth first and the veneers made their teeth a normal size. If I want smaller teeth, am I making a mistake by asking my dentist to file my teeth down to a smaller size? Also he recommended doing veneers on the front two teeth but I thought that it would be better to do the top six teeth. I was hoping by doing this that I could have all six teeth filed down a bit so they are not so big. Also do you think that it is a mistake to have a general dentist do your veneers? By doing this my insurance will cover a lot of the cost and cosmetic dentist in my area won’t take insurance. Thank you in advance for your advice.
– Troy in Texas
Troy,
Yes, it is a big mistake to get porcelain veneers from a general dentist. Cosmetic dentists have an entirely different approach. And even with a “cosmetic dentist” you have to be careful, because any dentist can say he or she is a cosmetic dentist without going through the extensive training that it takes to be good at that. Most dentists pick dentistry because they like to fix things. They’re generally good at fixing, but they have little artistic sense. And artistic sense is absolutely essential in creating a beautiful smile for you.
A couple of points about your experience with your dentist:
Don’t try to do both: save money AND get a beautiful smile. It doesn’t work.
– Dr. Hall
Related information:
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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.
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