Archives for March 2021

The Secret to Very White Teeth

Posted on March 31, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have been using whitening toothpastes for years and never seem to get very white teeth. I’ve about given up and am now looking at getting Lumineers at the suggestion of my dentist. It looks like it can give me very white teeth, but I wanted to make sure I am on the right track with this before investing that much money. Any advice?

Melissa

Dear Melissa,

You have a few good options. Before we get into that, I’d like to discuss why your whitening toothpaste hasn’t worked. These don’t actually whiten our teeth as much as scraping them clean. Whitening toothpaste uses an abrasive on your teeth, which removes the stains. However, it also will scratch the surface of your teeth. This has the unfortunate effect of damaging the surface of your teeth, in turn making them pick up stains more.

I’m a bit concerned that your dentist jumped from whitening toothpaste straight to Lumineers. It is massively more expensive than some of your other options. Lumineers are one brand of porcelain veneers. It’s a highly marketed brand. Unfortunately, it is mostly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists. This rarely goes well for the patient. Plus, porcelain veneers are not intended for simply whitening your teeth. Instead, they are for total smile makeovers. If that is what you want, then great. Get porcelain veneers. They can be made as white as you’d like. They can also change the shape and size of your teeth. It’s important you choose an excellent cosmetic dentist to do that procedure. If you decide to go that route, I suggest you look for a dentist that is listed on the mynewsmile.com website. These dentists are pre-screened for their training, technical knowledge, and artistry. They cannot just pay to get listed.

If you are not looking for anything quite that expensive, then you can get your teeth very white by doing professional teeth whitening. Doing bleaching trays can get them very white and you can do it at your convenience. If you want them white super fast, then you can go with Zoom Whitneining which will whiten your teeth in just one appointment. Unlike with porcelain veneers, you won’t need an exceptional cosmetic dentist for either teeth whitening procedure. Pretty much any dentist who offers the services can do them without any problem.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Premium Home Whitening

Posted on March 20, 2021 by writeradmin.

I received an advertisement for Premium Home Whitening. While the price is cheaper than what my dentist asks for teeth whitening, it is still higher than I want to risk on something I am not sure will work. Do you know if this is a legitimate product or not?

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

Teeth whitening trays

I am glad you wrote. I’ve looked into this. There are three main parts to this kit and I’ll go over each of them one at a time, then give my recommendation.

The Light:

This is the one part of this kit I would say it completely bogus. It doesn’t do anything. I think it is there simply as a sales gimmick, which bugs me.

The Whitening Ingredient:

This part is good, actually. It lists 35% carbamide peroxide. That is an effective whitening ingredient and will whiten your teeth. So, that is good news.

The Tray:

This will have some gaps because it is basically a DIY tray. If you look at the image above, I’ve posted a picture of professional bleaching trays. These are custom-fit to your specific bite. This will cause three specific issues:

The tray will get saliva in it, which will weaken the strength of the gel.
The gel itself can leak out, which does zero good toward any whitening benefit.
Your gums are no longer protected which can lead to some irritation and other issues.

Getting Your Teeth Whitened

My suggestion, because the cost of this is close to what your dentist charges is to simply talk to your dentist about the advertisement and price and ask if he or she would be willing to do your teeth whitening for around the same price. You will get more effective teeth whitening, all while being under the care and observation of a dentist.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune

Gums Inflamed After Porcelain Veneers

Posted on March 18, 2021 by writeradmin.

I had two porcelain veneers placed on my front teeth. Since they were placed my gums have been painful and inflamed. The hygienist said she’d never seen that happen and wondered if I was brushing correctly. I’ve been brushing my teeth for several decades now, so…yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m brushing correctly. Actually, her response sort of ticked me off. Then, a month later I went in for a follow-up visit with the dentist and he removed some cement from the back of my teeth and smoothed down some rough edges. While that did help some, I am still in pain. They don’t seem to care, so I’m wondering what my next steps are.

Madeline

Dear Madeline,

I am sorry that this happened to you. It is infuriating when professionals blame others simply because they don’t understand their field well enough. My experience has shown that when people get a smile makeover, they usually care for their teeth even better than before, so no, I don’t think the problem is the way you were brushing.

This is especially true because of what you described in your follow-up visit. Not cleaning up all the excess cement is an issue we often see with dentists who do not place porcelain veneers very often. Those that do regular, advanced cosmetic work have a routine down to ensure this does not happen.

First, they will tack the veneer on the tooth by curing the cement in the center only.
Then, while the remainder of the cement is still soft, they will be certain to remove all the excess, knowing it is much easier to do while soft.

This did not happen in your case. While your dentist did remove some at your follow-up visit, it would not surprise me in the least if there were still excess cement lodged somewhere.

There is also a second possibility for what could be causing your inflammation and pain. If there is some unevenness where the porcelain veneer meets with your tooth (what dentists call the margins) this could lead to problems. Or your dentist could have placed the veneer too far under the gumline. If he did that and encroached on the gingival attachment, that would also cause the problems you mentioned.

Obviously, your current dentist is either disinterested or does not have the skill to recognize what he did wrong. You next steps, in either case, would be to see an expert cosmetic dentist and have them examine your porcelain veneers in order to let you know what went wrong, then you can formulate a plan based on the diagnosis.

I would use one of the cosmetic dentists listed on the mynewsmile.com website. They are pre-screened for their technical knowledge and skill, as well as their artistry. They will have the knowledge to let you know what went wrong.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Lumineers over Crowns

Posted on March 5, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have old dental crowns that look horrible. I’d like to get veneers and am told that the Lumineers brand can go over dental crowns. Would I be a candidate for this? How do I go about finding a dentist to do it?

Everett

Dear Everett,

Above you will see an advertisement Lumineers placed years ago marketing this very concept. While I am certain you will be able to find a dentist to do this for you, what I’d like you to do is go over the information I’m about to provide and ask yourself if that’s what you want. First, let’s talk a little bit about Lumineers. They are simply one brand of porcelain veneers. This particular brand happens to be highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists. As a result, those are usually the type of dentists you will find that place them.

Dentists with expertise in cosmetic dentistry almost always prefer other brands. This has more to do with the fact that the company that owns Lumineers, DenMat, requires dentists to use their lab, which is not known for its artistic results. When it comes to getting a beautiful smile, you are better served by finding an expert cosmetic dentist and letting them choose the best brand to give you the results you want.

Should You Put Veneers Over Crowns?

Problem One:

Placing veneers over crowns is going to be bulky looking. If you consider that many patients find Lumineers themselves too bulky, you may find yourself feeling like you have horse teeth.

Problem Two:

There will be bonding issues. It is much more secure when you bond porcelain to natural tooth structure than it is when you bond porcelain to porcelain. This means you are at a greater risk of bonding failure. Additionally, your crowns are getting old. What if the bonding for those fails? Now you have double the risk of bonding failure– One from your old crowns and another from the porcelain veneers being bonded onto the crowns.

The Solution to Old Ugly Dental Crowns

The best thing for you to do is simply replace the crowns you have. An artistic cosmetic dentist can give you a gorgeous smile with dental crowns just as easily as with porcelain veneers. I would look on the mynewsmile.com website and get one of their recommended cosmetic dentists to do this procedure for you. Most of them even have a beautiful smile guarantee.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.