I’m going to get my teeth fixed. I’ve been doing a lot of research and have decided to get Lumineers because I don’t want my teeth shaved all the way down. I live in Colorado and I’ve been looking into Dr. ________. My cousin got her teeth done by you and she says you’re great. Do you know if he is great too. He’s not listed on the Lumineers site, so I wasn’t sure.
Carolyn- Denver, CO
Carolyn,
First I want to clear up some misconceptions. I can tell that you’ve seen a lot of the marketing for Lumineers. They often emphasize the fact that they are no-prep. They may have indicated that your teeth would need to be shaved down with other brands of porcelain veneers, but that is not accurate.
When your teeth are “shaved” for other brands, they only take about the depth of a fingernail off. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in appearance between a shaved and unshaven tooth.
In fact, often when Lumineers are put on without any tooth preparation they will make your smile look bulky and too long.
Also, the dentists that are listed on the Lumineers site are not any better or worse than another dentist. It just means they’ve passed a written exam by reading the lumineers material. What you want to look for is a dentist who is highly skilled in cosmetic dentistry both by understanding the technical issues and by having an artistic eye. The dentist you mentioned is not someone I’d consider an expert cosmetic dentist. He doesn’t seem to have the post-graduate training required to do a great job.
If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on new smile, you want to make sure it will be a smile you’ll be thrilled with. Your best option is to find someone who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. They will be among the top 1% of cosmetic dentists. If you can’t find one in your area, or you don’t like them, you could also look on the mynewsmile.com website. They recommend expert cosmetic dentists in each state.
This blog is brought to you by Boston Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.