I am working on my smile makeover. I am thinking of the BL2 or BL3 color. I’m almost 60 with medium blond hair, blue eyes, and a fair skin tone. I don’t want an over-white smile because of my age. I’ve going with dental bonding because it is less expensive than the porcelain veneers. I’ve looked on Yelp! and have picked the dentist they listed as number one for cosmetic dentists. Quick question, though. Should I have him start with the canines so I can see that I’m getting the right color?
Beverly
Dear Beverly,
I am very glad you wrote. I think I can save you from a disaster here. Let’s start with the choice of your cosmetic dentist. While I use Yelp! myself, you have to be careful which services you use it for. For example, it is a fine way to find a good plumber or hair dresser. However, if you are looking at cosmetic work, you have to be more careful. The reason for that is Yelp! does not distinguish between what the ratings are for. A dentist could be getting lots of five stars for being friendly when patients receive their dental cleanings. Yet, he may have no training in cosmetic dentistry.
As an example, I went to Yelp!, picked a random city, and asked for the best cosmetic dentist in that city. I went to the websites of the top five results. The first did not show any links for cosmetic work, not even teeth whitening, which tells me he doesn’t do any cosmetic work. The second through fifth did have cosmetic work on their site, but only two of them had a smile gallery. If a “cosmetic dentist” does not have a smile gallery, that tells me they have zero results that they are proud to display. Any serious cosmetic dentist will have a smile gallery. Of the two that did have a smile gallery, only one of those had any post-doctoral training in cosmetic dentistry.
In order to find the best cosmetic dentist, the first thing you’ll need to do is really make certain the dentist you have in mind has post-doctoral training, but also that their smile gallery shows they achieve beautiful results. If you get a skilled cosmetic dentist, they can help you with the color issue, as well as many other considerations, such as shape and size that will need to be addressed.
As for the choice of dental bonding, I think you may want to reconsider and go for the porcelain veneers. When well cared for the porcelain veneers will last your lifetime. Dental bonding will only give you a few years before you have to replace them. Plus, dental bonding is done free hand, which means there is no testing out the results.
With porcelain veneers, they can place them with a temporary try-in paste. This allows you to look at the comlpleted results and make certain that you really love them before they are permanently bonded on.
This blog is brought to you by Auburn, Al Dentists Drs. Alan Yount and Steve Murphree.