Dr. Hall
I’m about to have CEREC veneers done by a dentist I’ve used very little. He has told me that he does 1.5mm veneers, and that, after research, seems very thick.
I’m not sure of his abilities, and CEREC takes a magician to do correctly and natural.
Should I reconsider?
– Terry from Aurora, Colorado
(See Dr. Hall’s response below.)
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I wrote back to Terry and asked this:
Terry,
Who’s the dentist? That makes all the difference in the world!
Only about 1-2% of dentists are artistic enough to create a beautiful smile makeover.
So who’s the dentist? That’s the key question – not what material he’s using or how thick. Though you’re right—1.5 mm is about triple the thickness of the veneer most cosmetic dentists would place.
Dr. Hall
Whereupon he wrote back and gave me his name. Let’s not use the dentist’s real name—let’s call him Dr. Doe. So I responded with this:
Terry,
That’s very helpful.
It’s tough to find out any information about Dr. Doe—no website, no Yelp reviews. His Facebook page tells me nothing useful, no Angie’s List reviews.
I also checked databases that I have of institutions that train dentists in smile makeovers, and cannot find him listed anywhere.
Bottom line—highly risky. Especially given that he wants to make these veneers with a CEREC. There are some dentists who can do that, but this is harder than using a ceramist and requires an exceptional amount of skill. So not finding him among the alumni of these training institutions is troubling. He may be doing that to save money—he doesn’t want to pay a ceramist.
And you have to realize that if you get a smile makeover and end up hating how it looks, you have no legal recourse. As long as the veneers meet the standard of care—they stay on the teeth and function all right—the legal standard of care does not require you to like how they look.
Use one of our recommended cosmetic dentists. We have a couple in the Denver area, and either one could give you a beautiful smile makeover.
I have a bad feeling about Dr. Doe.
– Dr. Hall
And Terry responded:
Dr. Hall, thank you very much for doing the informative research. Even though not much was found, it was enough for me to reconsider my decision, and will give one of your recommended dentists a call, and mention your name.
I appreciate your time, of course your effort, thanks for everything.
– Terry
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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.