What Else is Necessary with Porcelain Veneers?

I want to get porcelain veneers. My dentist is fine with that but said he wants me to get my teeth whitened first and my crooked front tooth straightened with Invisalign.  I thought that porcelain veneers made your teeth whiter and could make a crooked tooth look straight. What else is really necessary with porcelain veneers?

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

I can give you some guidelines here, but bear in mind that I have not examined you so it would be irresponsible to give specifics. In principle, you are right, porcelain veneers can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth. If that is the case, why would you need anything else?

Let’s start with the teeth whitening. Most dentists will suggest you whiten at least your bottom arch of teeth. Patients generally only get veneers on their upper teeth, so if you want your two arches to blend, whitening the bottom teeth is an inexpensive way to do that. You would only need to whiten the upper arch of your teeth if you were not getting enough porcelain veneers to cover the teeth that are exposed when you smile. Most people have a smile that is 8-10 teeth wide. Let’s say you were getting just six porcelain veneers. Then, the adjacent teeth would not match when you smiled. Whitening them will help them to blend.

The Invisalign is a whole different story. It is rare for a patient to need orthodontics and porcelain veneers. You mentioned you had a crooked front tooth. An experienced cosmetic dentist can make crooked teeth look straight with porcelain veneers. The exception to that would be if you had a pretty complicated orthodontic case. That doesn’t sound like you at all.

This gives me a clue to your dentist. It is quite possible your dentist is using Invisalign like a crutch. He doesn’t feel comfortable shaping crooked teeth with porcelain veneers so he only wants to work with the ideal cases. If it isn’t ideal he suggests other procedures until it is. This is a waste of your money and time.

I suggest you get the teeth whitening with him. It is inexpensive and useful.  Then, get the porcelain veneers with an expert cosmetic dentist. I recommend looking on the mynewsmile.com website. The man who runs this site is a retired cosmetic dentist. He prescreens every dentist who wants to be listed there for their training, technical knowledge, and artistry. Any one of them can give you a stunning smile makeover, without having to do unnecessary procedures to get there.

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