Each patient is fully evaluated with photos, models, examined by Dr. Muslin, radiographs, complex motion tomography and treated in as short a period of time as possible.  It is routine in my practice to treat all of the upper teeth in just one 4 hour visit and bond in the porcelain in as little as a few days to a few weeks later on their second visit. 

The patient was treated in just two visits of about 2 to 4 hours long.  No sedation is necessary in most cases and the complex dental care is rendered with my highly experienced staff in a smooth and organized manner.  Most patients cannot believe that this much dental care can be done so quickly because of past experiences.   However, the patients have done surprisingly well. 

We have ceiling mounted TV sets that are directly above the patient for effortless viewing and give the patient’s frequent breaks during the visits so they do not have to hold their jaws open for long periods of time.  It is all about patient comfort during the delivery of Face Lift Dentistry ^®.

The Patient’s Potential

Face Lift Dentistryâ is designed to look at the patient face, listen to the speech, watch how the patient pronounces the “S” sounds and “TH” sounds, visualize the TMJ in function with high tech Complex Motion Tomograpy, examine the sizes of the upper and lower jaws and view how the jaws function.  Most of the time, the potential improvements for the patient are significant.  The problem is that the dentist needs to be the trained in almost every field of dentistry and then be able to coordinate the treatment to be so fast that the patient can accommodate without complications. The dentist must be highly organized and be highly skilled to deliver care to a patient as complicated as Face Lift Dentistryâ and yet make it almost effortless for the patient.

Continue to Part 2 – 25 Years of Experience Matters

In order to help someone understand the process of Face Lift Dentistry, it had to be broken down into simple terms for easy mental visualization.  Los Angeles cosmetic dentist Sam Muslin explains:

Scientific Studies Scant

The science of Face Lift Dentistry was perfected over years and years of successful treatment of many patients, covering a wide variety of dental problems.  These patients are all well documented and very happy with their improved confidence and lifestyles that only Face Lift Dentistry can achieve.  After 25 years of photographic documentation of successful treatment with all of the variables that individual people can present, combined with x-rays and complex motion tomography, written testimonials and video testimonials, the scientific results are in!  Face Lift Dentistry works very well if the dentist can adjust his plan and be creative in order to help the patient have biologically natural looking results.

Adding Length to the Teeth

Many dentists may “add length” to the teeth with resulting TMJ pain or inability to chew or speak clearly.  A patient can have worse jaw joint stress if the dentist is not highly skilled in achieving a biologically harmonious length.

Facelift Dentistry ensures that teeth length is functional in all dimensions.  Simply adding length to the upper front teeth increases the patient’s overbite.  The bite gets worse with most cosmetic dentistry that “simply adds length” to the teeth.

Making the Teeth Bulky
Some dentists may “add bulk to the teeth” to try and achieve similar results but the outcome is bad!  The increased bulk traps food while eating.  The last thing that makes a patient look attractive is chunks of food trapped around bulky teeth.

“Bulky” teeth do not look natural and adding length can be a functional disaster with deeper overbites.

The number one complaint in my office is that the patients do not want “thick or bulky looking teeth” like their friend just got from some cosmetic dentist.  The shapes of the teeth need to be natural looking and feeling.  See Sama’s video testimonial to understand how porcelain veneers can look fake, feel bulky and feel very “unnatural”.

Adding bulk to the teeth is a terrible solution for most patients and it violates basic biological principles of natural looking teeth.

Face Lift Dentistry is Not Intended to Replace a Cosmetic Face Lift

A Dental Facelift is an extremely complicated process of creating a beautiful, natural looking smile that lengthens the face and supports the lips, functions perfectly with the TMJ or jaw joint and supports the lips and clarifies the speech.  Face Lift Dentistry is a true creative art form that requires biological compatibility with all of the functions of the mouth that can achieve a younger and natural looking face lift.  It is not intended to replace a face lift by a plastic surgeon, but to augment the results for the plastic surgeon.

Dr. Sam, will it be expensive to get porcelain veneers?

Answer:

No, because what else can you get that will enhance your personal image for the rest of your life?  I have had patients get their promotion that increased their income because they appeared more professional.  I have had patients find romance after getting porcelain veneers (of course their teeth were very unattractive) before treatment.  Porcelain veneers improve your self esteem and make you appear more intelligent and professional.  Of course, nice people will always be more desirable but nice people that look healthy are even more desirable.  In my experience, porcelain veneers are probably the least expensive, least invasive, life changing treatment that also protects your teeth if they were done non-invasively.  My Dad’s porcelain veneers lasted over 25 years and served him very well as he looked better, his tooth wear stopped, no cavities and much less tooth sensitivity, plus he looked better than any 88 year old man in the city!  The benefits of porcelain veneers made them look very inexpensive.

Do porcelain veneers stain?

Answer:

No, high quality porcelain veneers do not stain deeply.  They can get surface stains that are easily polished off when the teeth are cleaned.  But, if the porcelain veneer is porous, or contains resin, the veneer itself will discolor over time and stain deeply.  My office only offers the best porcelain and the best ceramist in order to provide porcelain veneer that can last as long as possible.

Can porcelain veneers be whitened?

Answer:

Yes and no.  If the type of porcelain used changed color then it can’t be whitened.  Some of the cheaper porcelain veneers actually have resin combined with the porcelain.  This type of veneer turns yellow over time and looses it integrity.  They cannot be whitened.  However, if the porcelain is high quality, the porcelain did not change color.  The reason they may not look as white is because the tooth under the porcelain got yellow over time.  In this case, the teeth can be whitened from the back side which will make the porcelain veneers appear whiter again.

Can composite resin bonded teeth have porcelain veneers?

Answer:

Yes but you have to remove all of the resin bonded material before the impression is taken.  All of the resin must be removed and only tooth enamel is remaining.  The dentist must use magnification dentistry to remove the resin bonding material in order to preserve the patient’s tooth structure.  The dentist could damage the teeth without high magnification during the resin removal.

Can 14 year olds get porcelain veneers?

Answer:

Yes, 14 year olds can get porcelain veneers but it would be best to make sure that there is very little to no grinding on the natural teeth.  Additionally, the bite of the younger patients should be corrected as the porcelain veneers are being made.  Porcelain veneers can be a huge improvement for younger patients as their self esteem is so important.

Younger people with crooked, yellow teeth have more negative behavior that younger people with nice looking teeth.  There are no health disadvantages if the porcelain veneers and done by a highly experienced and skilled dentist.  The most important part of treating younger patients is the type of porcelain being used.  There are many different types of porcelain that are made cheaply and will not last nearly as long and hold their color nearly as long as high quality porcelain, a skilled ceramist and an experienced, artistically and technically skilled dentist

How expensive are porcelain veneers?

Answer:

There are many different types of porcelain veneers that are marketed today and there are also many dental ceramists that have a wide range of skills.  You may pick the right material but the ceramist doesn’t give good quality.  You can pick the best dental ceramist but the wrong type of porcelain veneer for the patient.  The result is fake looking teeth.

I have found that in my office, I work with one dental ceramist and he and I work together on every patient.  I actually work on the porcelain myself and both of us discuss the type of porcelain that would work best on each patient.  Sometimes I need to bring him into the office to see the patient personally in order for both of us to pick the porcelain and decide how to prepare that teeth to utilize the best characteristics of the type of porcelain that we chose to use.  It all depends on the color of the patient teeth, the size of the teeth, the patient bite and the patients expectations on how natural and how white they want their teeth to appear.  Some types of porcelain are better for hiding dark teeth and other types of porcelain transfer light for a clean natural look.

How much of my teeth should be ground down prior to porcelain veneers?

Answer:

In the most ideal situation, no tooth structure is removed.  The porcelain veneer is bonding to the patient’s tooth enamel.  All of the tooth structure is saved and in fact, the porcelain veneer actually protects the patients natural tooth structure for many years.  Imagine aging 30 years and visualizing how your teeth could look.  Over 30 years, teeth wear down, the enamel turns yellow, and the tooth structure gets thinner and chips.  All of this tooth wear is eliminated with porcelain veneers protecting the patient teeth.  The porcelain veneer takes the 30 year of wear and abuse.  

Sometimes it is indicated to remove some of the patients tooth structure if the teeth are crooked.  Porcelain veneers can provide instant braces in just 2 weeks.  The patient can have straight white teeth in just two weeks but some minor amounts of tooth structure are removed.