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Archives for November 2018

Dentist Wants Me to Whiten Before Lumineers

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I’m about to get Lumineers. I’m very excited about it but now my dentist said he’d like me to get my teeth whitened first. Is that really necessary? Isn’t one of the benefits of getting Lumineers to change the color of your teeth? Won’t the Lumineers do what the teeth whitening will?

Karen

Dear Karen,

Lumineers advert

How I answer your question depends on why your dentist is wanting you to whiten your teeth. If you are planning on getting the Lumineers brand of porcelain veneers on both your upper and lower arches, or if you are just getting them on your upper arch.

If you are getting your porcelain veneers on both upper and lower teeth, there is only a need to whiten your teeth if you have a wide smile. Most patients get between six to eight veneers. However, if you have a very wide smile, you may have ten to twelve visible teeth. If you don’t want to spend the money to get each of those teeth veneered, you would whiten your teeth ahead of time, so they will be close enough to the re-done teeth for them to look natural together.

If you don’t have a wide smile and your visible teeth will be covered, there really isn’t a reason to whiten your teeth. You’re correct that the Lumineers will do that for you.

When Do Whitening and Veneers Go Together?

However, most patients don’t want to pay for veneers on both their upper and lower teeth. Instead, they’ll just have the smile makeover done on the upper teeth, which are very visible when you smile. Then, on the bottom teeth which are only visible briefly while you’re speaking, you can use teeth whitening which makes it look like both arches are the same.

The big benefit to doing it this way is the money savings. It is significantly more affordable for you to whiten your bottom arch than it is to veneer the additional teeth. It’s likely instead of trying to get you to do an additional procedure to make money, your dentist is trying to save you money.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.

Affordable Dentist Disaster

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I went to this dentist who was advertising a special on dental crowns. He was much more affordable than other dentists and said he could do them in one appointment. Both of those things were appealing to me. What he didn’t say was he just got this machine and didn’t really know what he was doing. I was in his office for hours. In fact, I’m thinking it was over five hours. He kept having to go back and re-adjust it. Eventually, he admitted he made the discount to get practice and apologized for how long it was taking him to get it right. I wish I’d have had that information ahead of time so I could have made an informed decision. The big problem now is I’m in pain. I don’t know if it’s because of how long he had to mess with it or if there’s something more serious going on.

Allie

Dear Allie,

A dental crown being placed.

Cheap isn’t always affordable

I’m sorry you had such a distressing experience. I often warn people cheap doesn’t mean affordable. In this case, it cost you time and could also lead to the need for a root canal treatment. Before we jump there, though, please know that it will be normal for your tooth and jaw to be sore. This shouldn’t last for more than a day or two. Sometimes taking an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, such as ibuprofen will bring some relief.

If after a few days if you’re still hurting, you need to contact this dentist. It’s possible the crown still isn’t the right shape or size. It’s also possible your tooth went through so much trauma that you now need a root canal treatment.

Finding a Safe and Affordable Dentist

It would have been nice if this dentist disclosed to you his lack of training on his new machine. CEREC machines are growing in popularity but they do have a learning curve. One of the best ways to get an affordable dentist is to not gauge by who is the cheapest.

Instead, you want to check their reviews to make sure patients hadn’t had any negative experiences with the quality of his work. Then, you want a dentist who will tell you all your options, and be willing to work with you on both phased treatments and payments.

This way you get quality care without going bankrupt to do it.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.