Dr. Sam, I have gone to three different dentists to get advice on the best porcelain veneers. Each dentist has a different story. The one suggested Lumineers, the other suggested Composite Veneers, and the other suggested Empress Veneers. I never knew there were so many types! As this is expensive and painful, I would desperately like to make the right choice. Can you guide me?

Answer:

The skill of the dentist treating the patient is by far the most important choice. A dentist that is unskilled will not provide good care with Lumineers, Empress Veneers or Composite Veneers. There is a wide difference between the artistic and technical skills of the cosmetic dentists. More importantly, the three techniques mentioned, all have positives and negatives.

A Very Important Video Clip

Before chooing a dentis, watch this video about a bad porcelain veneer outcome.  Samantha was treated with porcelain veneers and was gracious enough to tell her story about the replacement of her porcelain veneers. Potential porcelain veneer patients have to remember that they will be wearing the porcelain veneers 24 hours a day so there are many characteristics that this patient explains that make a huge difference in how they look, feel and last.

Fake Looking Porcelain Veneers

An average cosmetic dentist will produce fake looking porcelain veneers with any technique so the choices mentioned are not the key issues.

Lumineers, Empress Veneers or Cosmetic Veneers?

One of the techniques mentioned requires a lot of tooth reduction. Most patients should not loose their natural tooth structure unless it is unavoidable. Another of the mentioned techniques turns color too quickly. The veneer does not hold its shade over the years. Another of the techniques has a tendency to be made too bulky, which looks fake. All three of the techniques could look great if the best dentist is chosen but if you pick the best dentist, the dentist should be guiding the patient toward making the right decision. He or she may not pick any of the three you mentioned.

The Best Porcelain Veneer

The best porcelain veneer choice is one that holds it color indefinitely, requires little to no tooth reduction, has a textured surface and natural contours. A great example of the best of the best in porcelain veneers is Melessa. Not a single tooth had to be ground down! Judge for yourself, then call Sam Muslin DDS MAGD for your conultation on (310) 829-6796

Is there really a difference between Lumineers and your acclaimed custom porcelain veneers – or is it just marketing?

Answer

It is NOT just Marketing!

We keep getting patients that just had porcelain veneers done by a “coupon dentist” and got a cheap price that are extremely unhappy. They feel violated, they can’t smile, and they look unnatural and fake. These patients are angry and would rather go back to their natural teeth than keep the new veneers placed on their teeth.

See the Samantha Lumineers video at www.hightechdentist.com for a live testimonial about her experience with lumineers.

After practicing dentistry for over 30 years and having 25 years of porcelain veneer experience, I have developed a keen understanding of the level of care necessary to please our patients. The biggest problem with most types of lab processed “custom” porcelain veneers is that so many of them look fake. Patients that are considering porcelain veneers are postponing treatment because they did not like the work recently completed on their friend by some other dentist. I found that porcelain veneers made in a dental lab are just not good enough anymore for most patients. I had to go to another level.

Custom Porcelain Veneers

Everyone claims that his or her porcelain veneers are custom made. Lumineers, Da Vinci Lab and all of the other labs claim their porcelain veneers are custom made and technically they are custom. But, there is a big difference in the porcelain veneers I produce and that is, patient satisfaction.

Fake Looking Porcelain Veneers

Bad porcelain veneers are fake looking. They are square, bulky, and thick and lack natural coloration. Cheaper porcelain veneers fade over time and stain easily. Years ago, just about any cosmetic improvement with porcelain veneers was considered good cosmetic dentistry. However, today, patients are more demanding and far more sophisticated about their dentistry. Patients want a natural look created to their specifications. The standard lab made porcelain veneers are not good enough anymore for many people.

Patient Specifications for their Porcelain Veneers

Some patients like longer looking teeth or square looking edges to their porcelain veneers. Other patients want very white teeth that do not look natural to me but are perfect to the patient. Some patients want their teeth to look undetectable yet still make their teeth permanently whiter. While other patients want their teeth to be a little bit crooked because it is part of their personality. This is the type of customization necessary for the ultimate level of care with porcelain veneers. Sending an impression to a lab just does not produce consistent patient satisfaction. More customized individualization, better shapes, better sizing and better translucency had to be done.

The Ultimate Level of Porcelain Veneers

Patients have an idea of the type of look that they want. They bring in pictures of smiles or want the shapes to be a particular way. Some patients have said to me that I am the expert so go ahead and do the treatment. Even though I was awarded the “Master” and was picked the Best Dentist in Los Angeles, I have found that some level of communication regarding patient expectations was vital to making the patient thrilled with the results. See www.hightechdentist.com for photos of my work or www.faceliftdentistry.com for one of the highest quality photo galleries of “before and after photos” matched up so you can compare the results.

What are Custom Porcelain Veneers?

I used so called “custom-made” porcelain veneers from dental labs years ago. I did what just about every single dentist in the United States does today, and that is take the impression and send it to the lab. When the porcelain veneers come back, they bond them into position and sometimes their patients are very unhappy. The labs do the best that they can do but they are not looking at the patient, nor do they understand how to customized cosmetic dentistry to the specific patient. Dental Labs have a tendency to produce the same looking teeth for everyone. It is not their fault; it is just the level of communication between the dentist and the lab. There just is no substitute for the cosmetic and creative eye of the dentist.

What are the Best Porcelain Veneers?

The best porcelain veneers are hand shaped by a highly skilled cosmetic dentist. In my office, I have about 20 close-up photos and 20 full face photos from all angles of every patient in order to visualize my patient while I am shaping and truly customizing their porcelain veneers. I have talked with the patient, shown them photos of my patients that have signed model release forms so they may visualize all of the variables and help choose the characteristics that they like for themselves. I have all of the information and then work on every single patient personally to create the natural look, cosmetic vision and the best porcelain veneers customized to that particular patient. I cannot do this with Lumineers because their ceramists are too far away.

See the Porcelain Veneers in you mouth Before they are Bonded!

After creating the best porcelain veneers for my patient, we gently place them on the patient’s teeth without bonding them so my patients can see my work BEFORE IT IS BONDED. They can go outside with my assistants to see how they look in the sun, and go back inside the office in various lighting to see how they look in office lighting. At this point, we can still increase the intensity of the shade or lower the intensity. Only after seeing the truly customized porcelain veneers in you mouth cans you, the patient, make an intelligent decision. If necessary, I can also bring in my ceramist that works only 2 blocks away to visualize form himself the improvements that are necessary if big changes need to be made.

Our patient satisfaction level is so high that they sign the model release form without any compensation. These patients for giving us permission to show their full face “before and after photos” honor us.

Marketing vs Educating

I am trying to educate my existing and potential new patients about the advantages of getting their dental care completed in my office. It has taken me many years to develop my “eye” for the ultimate level of cosmetic dental health care. The photography of my work validates the quality and the high level of patient satisfaction makes my professional work experience very satisfying.