Category Archives: Best Dentist

Best Dentist

A Dentist Who Disagrees with Me

I’m a little tired of you saying that a patient has to see an accredited cosmetic dentist if they want a beautiful smile. First of all, cosmetic dentistry isn’t a recognized specialty. It’s an area of interest. Being AACD accredited doesn’t make you better than a dentist who isn’t. You also act like anyone who uses Lumineers doesn’t know what they’re doing. Why does using a specific brand make you less of an expert? All you are doing are scaring patients. You’re probably just doing it to drive them to you. There are other good dentists.

Dr. H.

Dear H.,

Pretty brunette with a beautiful smile
Can a beautiful smile be guaranteed?

You are right that there isn’t a recognized specialty. That’s part of the problem. Any dentist no matter how much or little training they have in cosmetic dentistry can call themselves a cosmetic dentist and do a smile makeover. When they don’t have the artistry necessary, it is the patient who suffers.

What I did NOT say is that only an AACD accredited cosmetic dentist can do a beautiful smile. I’m sure there are dentists on their way to accreditation who create beautiful smiles. However, my blog is here to help patients, not dentists. It is too hard for a patient to investigate each dentist to know which ones will give them a stunning smile and which ones will make them into the next cosmetic dentistry horror story.

How are they to know which post-doctoral schools to look for in their training? Or how to tell from the smile gallery photos whether the gums are healthy?

Accredited dentists have already proven their technical knowledge and artistry. It is an easy way for the patients to know they are getting the best dentist to do their smile makeover.

I’m not saying you have to get accredited to be good. I’m saying being accredited shows you are and gives the patient some measure of security.

This blog is brought to you by Salem, MA Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

Cure for Fluorosis

I used to catch my daughter in the bathroom sucking down whole tubes of toothpaste. We eventually had to lock them up and then supervise her while brushing. Now she has white spots on her teeth and they look a bit splotchy. I did some reading and I bet it is something called fluorosis. Is there anything I can do to help with this? I’m sure as she gets older it will bother her. I was thinking of teeth whitening. What are your thoughts?

Dennie

Dear Dennie,

white spots on teeth

It looks like you are trying hard to stay on top of your daughter’s oral health as well as her cosmetic appearance. You are right that it could be fluorosis. Teeth whitening, while it sounds like a good idea, will actually not help. It will whiten the surface of the teeth evenly. This means the uneven color will still be there only more evident.

You have a couple of options in the treatment of white spots. In some cases, using a treatment called Icon can work. That would be my first try because it doesn’t require any detailed cosmetic work.

If that doesn’t remove the spots, your other options are cosmetic. She’s too young for porcelain veneers. That will be an option after her teeth are fully developed. I would go with dental bonding. This uses a composite resin the dentist will hand sculpt onto her teeth and cover the white spots. However, this isn’t the type of procedure your average dentist can do. You will need an expert cosmetic dentist.

Finding a Great Cosmetic Dentist

Many people do not realize that cosmetic dentistry isn’t a recognized specialty. Any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist regardless of the amount of training they have put into developing their cosmetic skills. This is not something dentists learn in dental school. They have to invest time and training post-doctorally.

The best cosmetic dentists have reached accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. They are among the top 1% of cosmetic dentists in the country. However, it is not always easy to find one near you. If you run into that problem, an equally good option is to go to mynewsmile.com. They pre-screen cosmetic dentists for their training and artistic ability. They can also do a fine job for your daughter. Most of them are accredited or almost accredited (a process that takes years).

This blog is brought to you by Salem, MA Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

Blacklisted by Best Dentist

I’m afraid I’ve been blacklisted by the best dentist in the area. He came highly recommended by several of my friends. They’ve all been to him for various cosmetic procedures, from whitening through veneers, and everyone says such wonderful things about him. Maybe I built him up too much in my mind, but I recently went in for a consultation about having my teeth fixed up a bit. I have some awkward spacing and one tooth is a little twisted. I wanted to have them straightened out and whitened. Everything seemed fine. I met him and thought he was fantastic. He talked up veneers and I felt great. But, then his assistant came in after and gave me the estimate—it was thousands more than I could afford. I asked if there were alternative solutions and the girl huffed at me a bit and then went and got the dentist. He came back and basically told me that if I didn’t want to do it his way, I shouldn’t be in his office.

I was devastated. I really thought this guy would be great, but I can’t afford to go through with the treatment and my friends keep asking me when I’m going in to see him. I have absolute faith in his capabilities, I just wish he’d work with me on treatment. Is there any way to salvage this?

Thanks,

Anonymous In MA

Dear Anonymous,

Woman giving thumbs up in a dental chair
How do you know if you have the best dentist for your needs?

Let’s be realistic for a moment here. If he was the best dentist, would he be treating you this way? The answer is no.

He’s Not Taking Good Care of You

Perhaps he has amazing artistic skill and can craft beautiful smiles, but that’s only half the battle. Being able to make patients feel comfortable and helping them get around their barriers is equally important. In your case, cost is a barrier.

A good dentist would understand this and pitch solutions that work within your limitations. Perhaps you might be better getting six porcelain veneers instead of two or four. Maybe that is the best way to improve your smile. At the same time, maybe two will provide you with adequate results and be a bit more affordable. Or, perhaps Invisalign combined with teeth whitening is a better option for your budget. There are always multiple approaches. If he isn’t willing to explore them with you, he’s not doing you justice.

You Can Find a Better Dentist

Go have a consultation with another dentist and be upfront about your budget from the onset. A great dentist will go over your options with you. For what it’s worth, you don’t have to explain to your friends why you’re seeing someone else. The prior office has an obligation to keep your information confidential, so unless you tell your friends why you left, they never need to know.

This blog is sponsored by Salem Dentist Dr. Burba.

Best Dentist

Does it matter who does your crowns?

I have been diagnosed with TMJ Disorder. My dentist said he’d like to do what he calls a full-mouth reconstruction to repair it. As he explained it, that means crowns on every tooth. I’ve had a single crown done before. Does it matter that I’m getting all crowned for a TMJ problem? Does that require a specialist?

Sara

Dear Sara,

Woman giving thumbs up in a dental chair
How do you know if you have the best dentist for your needs?

One of the problems patients in your situation run into is there aren’t recognized specialties in either TMJ, recognstructive, or cosmetic dentistry. All of those of important areas of knowledge and skill for a dentist to do a full-mouth reconstruction.

This is a serious procedure which costs a great deal of money. While some pretty severe cases of TMJ Disorder do require drastic treatments, I always recommend you get a second opinion from a dentist with a lot of TMJ training before moving forward to see if this is really what you need.

Finding the Best Dentist for a Full-Mouth Reconstruction

As I mentioned earlier, the best dentists for a full-mouth reconstruction have expertise in TMJ, occlusion and restoration, as well as cosmetic work.

The occlusion, TMJ, and restoration is to make sure the bite is technically correct. You need the bite to line up correctly in order to help aide in the healing of your TMJ disorder. Look for dentists who’ve studied these type of topics at one of the following school:

  • The Dawson Academy
  • The Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies
  • The Kois Center

There are other great ones as well, but these are three of the best.

The cosmetic work is important so you’ll have a smile you’re proud of. In reality, it’s a great opportunity to get a stunning smile. If you are looking for the top of the line cosmetic dentists, you want to find a dentist who’s reached accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists. They are in the top 1% of cosmetic dentistry in the country.

This blog is brought to you by Salem Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

Best dental treatment for a chipped tooth

If you have chipped a tooth, what’s the best dental treatment for restoring it?

Examination

A chipped tooth needs to be examined first to determine the extent of the damage. The location of the chip and the extent of the damage  in your tooth affect which dental treatment options will give you the best results.

Treatment options

Minor chip

A minor chip at a corner of the tooth can be quickly restored. If the piece of the tooth that chipped off is saved, it might be possible to bond it onto the tooth.

If the chipped portion is not available, it can be filled in and beautifully concealed with dental bonding. A skilled cosmetic dentist will give you the best results. He or she has a variety of shades of composite that can be mixed and manipulated to create a lifelike appearance that matches the color and translucency of the damaged tooth.

The restoration is usually completed in one visit—provided there is no internal damage to the tooth. Dental bonding stains over time and may need to be removed and reapplied.

Some patients choose to conceal a chipped tooth with a porcelain veneer, but this treatment is more expensive than dental bonding, more invasive, and requires light preparation, or shaving of your tooth, to help the veneer fit properly and prevent it from looking bulky.

Severe chip

If there is a severe chip in a molar tooth, it may need to be protected with a dental crown.

An extensive chip can affect the pulp of a tooth. When the pulp is damaged, the tooth can become infected and the infection can spread. In this case, a root canal treatment is needed.

When a tooth is weakened by a crack or fracture, it’s important to get treatment for it right away. The force of biting or chewing over time can cause the crack or fracture to get worse.

Find an experienced cosmetic dentist to restore the tooth. He or she will let you know your options for restoring your tooth. As the photos below show, you can find if you find one of the best cosmetic dentists in your area, bonding will be so beautifully done that you won’t be able to tell your tooth was ever chipped.

This post is sponsored by the dentists of Burba Dental in Salem, MA.

Best Dentist

Affordable full-mouth reconstruction

I never was able to go to the dentist as a child. My parents never had the money. I used to resent them for that. But, I had saved up money to go to the dentist and now I understand. This dentist told me I need a lot of work and suggested what he called a full-mouth reconstruction. This is way beyond anything I can afford. In fact, it costs more than all the cars I’ve owned put together. Is there an affordable way to get this done?

Keith

Dear Keith,

Woman giving thumbs up in a dental chair
How do you know if you have the best dentist for your needs?

Dear Keith,

Our parent’s actions often seem more understandable as we age, however, avoiding the dentist altogether is never recommended. It will actually end up costing you more money in the long run, something your parents just may not have understood.

That being said, I don’t think this is the best dentist for you to be seeing. He’s jumping a lot of guns. I don’t know if he’s doing that because he’s lazy or because he is trying to milk you for as much as he can. Either way, you want a different dentist.

A full-mouth reconstruction means grinding down all of your teeth and placing dental crowns on all of them. This can only be done by the top 1-2% of dentists in the country.

It takes advanced training in both restorative dentistry and aesthetics. Not many dentists have this. If it’s done incorrectly, it can completely destroy your bite, leading to severe TMJ problems.

Find a Dentist Willing to Work Hard

What you need instead is a dentist willing to work hard to preserve as much of your healthy teeth as he can while taking care of the issues that have further and need treatment.

Affording this is easier too. You simply have the dentist list out everything that needs to be done to your teeth without wasting unnecessary structure.

Ask him to list it out from most urgent to least. This way you can do what’s known as phased treatment. You work on the urgent things so you don’t end up with a dental emergency, then slowly (as you are able) get the next thing done.

This blog is brought to you by Salem Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

Dentist wants to CROWN a Chipped Tooth!

I fell on some ice and chipped my tooth. I wanted to repair it but my dentist said the best repair would be a crown. I know he’s not big on cosmetic dentistry, but I was hoping for something that wouldn’t grind the whole tooth. Aren’t there some cosmetic options?

May

Dear May,

before and after a chipped tooth is repaired

I’m sure your dentist is a decent general dentist and is giving you the best service he can provide for you. Unfortunately, he not the best dentist for you in this particular situation. Yes, there are cosmetic solutions to this which are much simpler. The ideal one is much more affordable than a crown too.

However, I don’t recommend you force his hand on this. If he isn’t familiar and experienced in cosmetic dentistry you will not like the results you get. Many people use one dentist for their general dental work and one for their cosmetic work.

Fixing a Chipped Tooth

The standard repair for a chipped tooth is to have dental bonding done on it. This uses a composite resin that the dentist will sculpt onto the tooth freehand. It does require an artistic cosmetic dentist. As you don’t have one, I’m going to tell you how to find the best cosmetic dentist in your area.

I mean if you’re going to do a cosmetic procedure, you may as well go to the person who can not only do it well, they do an awesome job. My suggestion is you get an AACD accredited dentist. These dentists have gone through stringent oral and written exams as well as demonstrated their artistic ability on a large number of cases.

Any of them could not only fix your chipped tooth, but they could also give you a stunning smile makeover with porcelain veneers.

This blog is brought to you by Salem Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

Does Cosmetic Dentistry have to be a Fortune or a Failure?

Several years ago, I had four dental crowns placed on my front teeth. I decided it was time to upgrade my smile and had a consult with my dentist. I told him I wanted something which would improve my smile but not cost a fortune. He suggested teeth whitening. I went ahead with that. The rest of my teeth look great, but the crowns now look dingy compared to the rest of them. I don’t know what went wrong, but my dentist said it was probably time to replace them anyway. When he did the temporaries, I realized that the crowns would be ugly. I didn’t want that either, it’d be no better than leaving them as is, but without the extra cost. I decided just to get a consult from one of those touted cosmetic dentists. He agreed the crowns needed to be redone, but insists I need work on eight teeth because of the width of my smile. That will be quite a pretty penny. Do I have to spend a fortune or be left with an ugly smile?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

Woman giving thumbs up in a dental chair
If you want to have a smile in the dental chair you need to choose the best dentist

You’re in a bit of a tough spot and it’s all because your family dentist didn’t know (and apparently still doesn’t) know a thing about cosmetic dentistry. He should have told you that the teeth whitening procedure you had done would bleach your teeth but have zero effect on your crowns.

However, you were smart to not go through with his re-do of your crowns. His cosmetic skills are non-existent and you’re talking about your front teeth. You want the best cosmetic dentist you can find. The dentist who’s telling you that eight crowns are necessary is likely trying to give you a perfect smile. If you have a wide smile, eight porcelain veneers are common. Sometimes, even ten are necessary.

However, you don’t have to have all eight done. If you’re happy with the color and shape of the two teeth adjacent to either side of your four front teeth, then you can just get four all-porcelain crowns to go with them. A great cosmetic dentist can make your smile look stunning even with those limitations.

Finding the Best Cosmetic Dentist

You may have to find a different cosmetic dentist than the one insisting on eight teeth. Some will only do the ideal. However, you can find incredible cosmetic dentists who will work within your desired smile.

My recommendation is for you to look at two different online resources. The first is the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’s website (aacd.com). The second is mynewsmile.com. Both of these will recommend the best of the best cosmetic dentists in your area. If you use the AACD site, make certain you check that you want an accredited dentist or an accredited fellow. Those are the best.

This blog is brought to you by Salem, MA Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

BEST Dentist to Fix Meth Mouth

My daughter has come a long way. When she was 14 she ran away. She came back this year at 19-years-old. I barely recognized her. She was too thin and completely strung out on drugs. She could barely talk. I couldn’t believe this was the same little girl who used to cuddle in my lap while I read Little House on the Praire books to her. We took her back in. She was addicted to meth but once she could communicate told us she’d do anything to get her life together and she meant it. She’s completely off drugs. She got her G.E.D. and is preparing to go to a local university. I’m super proud of her. One of the things which still embarrasses her and I’m afraid will hurt her employment opportunities is her teeth. She has what I now know as meth mouth. I want to fix her teeth so she can feel confident when she smiles. But, I understand this is a gargantuan task that requires more than your average family dentist. How do I go about finding the best dentist to give her the beautiful smile she deserves?

Linda

Dear Linda,

A pretty blonde with a pretty smile.
The best cosmetic dentists create beautiful smiles

What a great moment that must have been to get your little girl back. It reminds me of the prodigal son in the Bible. It sounds like you have good reason to be proud of the changes she’s made. None of that could have been easy for either of you. I’m sure just her coming off the meth was a torture you’d never want to experience again.

It’s good that you recognize this is above the abilities of most dentists. These type of smile makeovers require immense skill and artistry. You need not just one of the best dentists. You need the best of the best. My suggestion would be to find a dentist who’s reached accreditation level with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD Dentists are among the top 1% of dentists in the country. They’ll be able to give your daughter a stunning smile.

It’s likely they’ll do a combination of teeth whitening, porcelain veneers, and porcelain crowns. Many of them even have a beautiful smile guarantee, so you’ll be sure to get the smile you want.

I’m glad you guys are getting your daughter back.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Randall Burba.

Best Dentist

How Do I Find the Best Dentist?

I’ve recently moved and need to find a new dentist. I’ve been to the same one most of my adult life so it feels weird switching. How do I find the best one available?

Burt

Dear Burt,

Woman giving thumbs up in a dental chair
The Best Dentists Leave Us with Smiles

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some independent, objective measurement to tell us who the best dentists were? Unfortunately, especially when it comes to general dental care, there isn’t. That doesn’t mean I can’t give you some guidelines to help you find the best dentist for your particular needs.

The first thing to ask yourself is what type of services do you need? Are you strictly and nuts and bolts guy who just wants his teeth cleaned and maintained as necessary? Or maybe you also want some cosmetic work done? Once that’s decided, it gets a little easier.

Finding the Best General Dentist

For the basics, I’d simply do an internet search for dentists in your area. Then I’d take two additional steps.

  • Check their reviews.

You’ll want a dentist people enjoy seeing. One who makes them feel like family instead of just someone they need to get in and out of the dental chair. Reviews are generally written by those who are thrilled with the service they’ve received or hated it. Either one should give you the information you need.

  • Check their passion

Each state has a requirement for how many continuing education hours a dentist has to do to keep their license. You want a dentist who not only keeps up with the developments in his field but has a passion for it. Make sure they go above and beyond what is required. They shouldn’t be offended to answer a question on how many continuing hours they do.

Finding the Best Cosmetic Dentist

It’s a little easier to find the best cosmetic dentist. Because there isn’t a cosmetic dentistry specialty, there used to be no way for patients to know who would give them a gorgeous smile makeover with porcelain veneers and who would give them a cosmetic horror story.

Fortunately, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry stepped in and created an accreditation program. This tests dentist both with written and oral exams gauging their technical knowledge. Then, it requires them to provide visual evidence of a large number of cosmetic procedures they’ve done to ensure they not only have technical skill but artistry as well.

If a dentist is AACD accredited, that means you will get a stunning smile. In fact, most of them have a beautiful smile guarantee.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Randall Burba.