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Will Bonding Work for My Peg Lateral Teeth?

Posted on by AllSmiles.

I have peg teeth on my left and right incisors. Also, the left tooth sticks out a little farther than my other teeth. I am self-conscious about my small teeth and do not smile for pictures. Is bonding enough to correct them, or will I need additional treatment? Thank you. Brielle from Spokane, WA

Brielle,

Thank you for choosing Dr. Delaune’s office for your question. Dr. Delaune would need to examine and x-ray your teeth to determine your treatment options, but we will discuss treatment in general.

What Are Peg Lateral Teeth?

Peg lateral teeth are lateral incisors located next to the central incisors (center front teeth). According to the American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, peg laterals affect about two percent of the U.S. population. More women than men have small, misshaped lateral incisors. What cosmetic dentistry treatment can correct peg laterals?

What Are the Treatment Options for Peg Laterals?

Treatment options for peg lateral teeth may include cosmetic bonding, contouring, orthodontic treatment, porcelain crowns, or porcelain veneers. A dentist will examine your teeth and gums and x-ray them to evaluate their health and position. Your case may require one or more of these treatments:

  • Cosmetic bonding – A cosmetic dentist can blend composite to match the color and translucence of your natural teeth. Bonding is not as stain resistant and durable as porcelain veneers. The dentist will clean and lightly etch the tooth before applying a bonding agent to it. Afterward, the dentist will shape the composite to lengthen your small teeth. After hardening and further shaping your tooth, the dentist will polish it. Your lengthened teeth will seamlessly blend with your natural teeth. If you take diligent care of your teeth, the bonding can last ten years or more.
  • Gum contouring – Gum contouring is an option if it will not expose tooth roots and create sensitivity in your teeth. At times, dentists use gum contouring with porcelain veneers. A dental laser can shorten your gumline around your lateral incisors so they appear longer.
  • Orthodontic treatment – If your lateral incisors have not fully erupted or if they are not in the correct position, a cosmetic dentist may recommend orthodontic treatment.
  • Porcelain crowns – Dental crowns can cover peg lateral incisors. Your dentist may recommend crowns if your teeth are weak or otherwise unhealthy. Crowns require aggressive tooth preparation, so cosmetic dentists use them as a last option for restoring teeth. A dental ceramist can manipulate ceramic crowns to match your natural teeth.
  • Porcelain veneers – After preparing the fronts of your lateral incisors, a dentist can apply custom-made porcelain shells to them. Veneers are stain resistant and can last 15 years or longer if you take care of them and get regular maintenance from a cosmetic dentist.

Whether a dentist restores your peg laterals with porcelain veneers or another cosmetic dentistry treatment, the aesthetics and durability depend on the skill of your cosmetic dentist. We recommend scheduling consultations with two advanced cosmetic dentists to discuss and compare your options.

Dr. Duane Delaune, a Metairie, Louisiana, cosmetic dentist, sponsors this post.

Before-and-after small teeth photos from Dr. Duane Delaune of Metairie, LA

Porcelain veneers photos from Dr. Duane Delaune of Metairie, Louisiana

What Tools Can I Use to Remove Porcelain Veneers?

Posted on by AllSmiles.

I hate my porcelain veneers and am tired of talking to my dentist about them. I asked her to remove them, and she told me that I couldn’t go back to my natural teeth, so there was no need to remove them. She also insists that the veneers I have are what I ordered, but that is not true. I tried on veneers that I liked. The things she bonded onto my teeth look like fake model sets of teeth I used to see in the dentist’s office when I was a kid. They look that bad. I want to know how I can get the veneers off myself and what tools I can use. I can’t imagine my natural teeth looking bad because these were no-prep veneers. Please tell me how I can get the veneers off without hurting my teeth? I don’t want to pay another dentist to do anything to my teeth. Thank you. Walt

Walt – Thanks for your question.

What Tools Can You Use to Remove Porcelain Veneers?

porcelain veneer being placed on a tooth

Only a skilled cosmetic dentist can remove veneers safely

There are no tools that you can use to remove your porcelain veneers. Unless a dentist has the proper training, they would not be able to remove your veneers either.

A skilled cosmetic dentist has an inventory of dental tools to carefully etch the veneers off your natural teeth without damaging them. After the dentist removes your veneers, they will clean your teeth. The dentist can polish your natural teeth and rejuvenate them if you have no-prep veneers.

What If You Do Not Have No-Prep Veneers?

If your new dentist discovers that your teeth were prepared for porcelain veneers, you will need new veneers to replace them. You cannot leave your natural teeth exposed. They will be vulnerable to decay and fractures, so your new cosmetic dentist must cover and protect your teeth.

Find an experienced cosmetic dentist to examine your veneers and teeth. They will explain your treatment options.

Dr. Duane Delaune, a Metairie, Louisiana, cosmetic dentist, sponsors this post.

Will No-Prep Veneers Work for My Teeth?

Posted on by AllSmiles.

I have seen and compared no-prep veneers before and after pictures on several dental websites. Sometimes they look good and other times they do not. I am concerned about how they will look on my teeth. I do not know whether it is a coincidence, but it seems that the pictures that look good are mostly of people who wanted to make their small teeth larger. Only a few dentists’ patient photos look good in every case. My tooth size is fine, but I would like veneers to correct the shape of three teeth and another tooth that slightly overlaps the tooth immediately to the left. Will no-prep veneers work for my case? Can anyone get no-prep veneers? – Thanks. D’Andre from TN

 

D’Andre,

Thank you for your question.

Although Dr. Delaune would need to examine your teeth to determine whether you are a candidate for no-prep veneers, we will answer your question in general.

Will No-Prep Veneers Work for Your Teeth?

Although many patients ask for no-prep veneers, it does not mean that they will look good on your teeth or improve your smile. Skilled cosmetic dentists are careful with patient cases when asked to place no-prep veneers. Most often, without preparation, teeth can look large and bulky. Advanced cosmetic dentists are upfront about how no-prep veneers will look on you.

What Are Minimal-Prep Veneers?

Minimal-prep veneers require a cosmetic dentist to reduce only 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm of tooth enamel. Removing a tiny amount of enamel allows your veneers to fit nicely over your tooth and around your gum line. Minimal preparation can help veneers look natural on large, misshapen, uneven, or misaligned teeth.

If one of your teeth slightly overlaps, a cosmetic dentist must trim the tooth to get a beautiful result. Without preparation, the tooth will stick out even further.

Ultra-Thin Veneers

A skilled cosmetic dentist completes beautiful smiles by blending ultra-thin veneers with conservative tooth preparation. They choose veneer brands based on stunning results—not because they are popular no-prep brands, such as Lumineers, advertised on TV. Remember, even an ultra-thin veneer often requires tooth preparation depending on the condition and position of your natural teeth and the look you want to achieve.

Schedule Porcelain Veneers Consultations

We recommend scheduling consultations with two cosmetic dentists to compare their treatment recommendations for improving your smile with conservative tooth preparation and veneers. Each dentist should explain whether they would prepare your teeth and why.

What you can do:

  • Look for dentists with advanced cosmetic dentistry training.
  • Prepare your questions for the consultations and take notes.
  • Ask to see each dentist’s smile gallery of their porcelain veneers patients.

Dr. Duane Delaune, an cosmetic dentist in Metairie, Louisiana, sponsors this post.

Before and after minimal prep porcelain veneers photos

An example of the results Dr. Delaune achieves with minimal-prep porcelain veneers

How Much Is Needed for a Smile Makeover?

Posted on by writeradmin.

I’m a little confused about smile makeovers. I was told that THE procedure for this was porcelain veneers, but when I went to see my dentist for this, he is suggesting I have teeth whitening, Invisalign, and porcelain veneers. Is all this REALLY necessary? I was under the impression that porcelain veneers can make teeth look straight. The only thing I have like that is one front tooth goes just slightly over the other. I would think you could shave that down, though I am not a cosmetic dentist. Am I misunderstanding something here?

Susan

Dear Susan,

porcelain veneer being placed on a tooth

There are a few things going on here. First, you are correct that porcelain veneers are the way to go if you are getting a smile makeover. You mentioned that you are not a cosmetic dentist so maybe you did not understand how they worked. The trouble is your dentist may not be a cosmetic dentist either. Believe it or not, cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. Any general dentist can do cosmetic dentistry regardless of the amount of training they’ve received. That leads me to answer your questions. Some of what he said could be necessary and one is not.

Let’s start with the teeth whitening. Unless you are placing porcelain veneers on every single visible tooth, then teeth whitening will be a good idea. You did not mention how many porcelain veneers you are getting. Most smiles are 8-10 teeth wide. Unless you are getting that many veneers, the whitening will help the adjacent teeth to blend in nicely and is less expensive than additional veneers. Just make certain that you do the teeth whitening before the veneers.

The Invisalign is a completely different story. Some cases are so complicated that it might be necessary, but from your description, it is NOT necessary in your case. An experienced cosmetic dentist could definitely make those teeth look straight. I don’t think your dentist is an expert cosmetic dentist. That is why he is suggesting Invisalign. It will help compensate for what he is not capable of doing on his own.

My suggestion is you find an expert cosmetic dentist to do your case. You will be much happier with the results. To find one with real expertise and proven artistry, I would look on the mynewsmile.com website. These are some of the best cosmetic dentists in the country.

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

My Daughter’s Dental Crowns are Ugly

Posted on by writeradmin.

Years ago, when my college-aged daughter, was a middle-schooler she had a fall that caused some tooth trauma. Two teeth were crowned and one of them even needed a root canal treatment. One of the crowns has turned gray over the years, so we were looking for a solution. We went to this dentist who provided two porcelain veneers for us. Whle they are more attractive than what she had, we’re still not too thrilled. The biggest thing is that one tooth is still darker than the other. The second is that one of the teeth are thicker, which he said was due to the fact that he was trying to cut down on some of the grayness of that tooth. He also said that we have unrealistic expectations. Do we? I feel like after $5,000 she should feel confident about her smile. Am I being overly critical?

Morgan

Dear Morgan,

Porcelain Crowns

I will say up front you are not being overly critical to want two front teeth to match in color and size, especially when you are paying a cosmetic dentist to do it. That being said, I want to clear one thing up before we get into the solution to this. You said he was giving you porcelain veneers, but that previously she had crowns. Once you have crowns, they can only be replaced with other crowns. Unless of course, your dentist was planning on placing porcelain veneers on top of her dental crowns. However, that would be a dumb thing to do because they are less secure and an equal amount of work for the dentist. My suspicion is that he gave her porcelain crowns and called them porcelain veneers. Crowns go all the way around her teeth, which means the tooth structure is ground down quite a bit.

For now, I’m going to go on the assumption she actually has crowns, but the principles I’m about to share are the same either way. While getting a single porcelain crown to match a front tooth is extraordinarily hard and takes the top 1% of cosmetic dentists, getting two crowns to match should not be that hard. This dentist is not the best dentist for you. I believe your dentist is in over his head. While I can tell you the procedure to help, your best bet would be to find a dentist who does not need to be taught.

The first thing I want you to do is ask for a full refund from this dentist. Then, look on the mynewsmile.com website. They have a find a cosmetic dentist link. You input your zipcode along with the distance you are willing to travel and they will bring up a list of skilled cosmetic dentists in that area. Everyone they will recommend has been prescreened for both their technical training and skill as well as their artistry. They’ll be able to give your daughter a smile she will be proud to share.

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

Dental Bonding Doesn’t Match and Falls Off

Posted on by writeradmin.

I have tetracycline stains and my dentist said dental bonding would take care of it. It has not worked out at all like I wanted. First, the color doesn’t match and it is pretty obvious. Plus, you can still see some of the tetracycline stains through it. As if that weren’t bad enough, the bonding fell off after just three days. I went back for him to repair it. At the time, I told him about the color problem so he made them thicker, which looks weird in its own way. Now they have fallen off again just a few days later. I called him back and he said they’re not meant to be permanent so I should not have high expectations. However, I was told they’d last up to five years, this is like just a few days. What should I do?

Calorie

Dear Calorie,

before and after dental bonding for a chipped tooth

As you can see from the image above dental bonding can blend in quite naturally with your teeth. I think the biggest problem you are facing is the skill and technical knowledge of your dentist. Both dental bonding and tetracycline stains are some of the most advanced procedures in cosmetic dentistry. You should be aware that cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. Any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist regardless of the amount of training they have invested (or not invested) in.

I think your dentist is in way over his head. Dental bonding should not fall off, especially after just a few days. As for the color, if he is an inexperienced cosmetic dentist, he probably doesn’t even have the colors and other materials necessary to make things blend well. An additional problem in dealing with tetracycline stains is making the teeth opaque enough to cover the stains, while translucent enough to look natural. That is not an easy accomplishment, even for a skilled cosmetic dentist.

Honestly, the better treatment for you would be porcelain veneers and not bonding. It is more permanent, decades rather than years. Plus, it is more stain-resistant. I don’t think your dentist is the one to do it. Here is my advice. Do not let him “fix” this. instead, ask for a refund. Then, we’re going to get you to a highly skilled cosmetic dentist.

Finding an Expert Cosmetic Dentist

Because there is not a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry it is hard for patients to know who has the skills and who doesn’t. There is a website that strives to help patients in your position. A retired cosmetic dentist runs the mynewsmile.com website. He prescreens all dentists that want to be listed on his site. They cannot purchase their way on. Instead, they have to show their training credentials, in addition to proving their artistry and skill on cases they’ve completed. Any dentist he lists can provide you with a stunning smile.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.
Click here to learn about our free virtual smile makeover consult.

My Mouth is Collapsed

Posted on by writeradmin.

I have always had problems with some teeth grinding. I wear a mouth guard at night as a result. That is the only time I feel like people can see my teeth and my jaw even hurts less. When I am not wearing it, my jaw hurts, you can’t see my teeth even when I smile, and I’m having trouble pronouncing some letters. My dentist is suggesting porcelain veneers. I just want to make sure I understand all my options. Is this the way I should go?

LeeAnn

Dear LeeAnn,

Woman holding her jaw in pain

I want you to be very careful here. While porcelain veneers could improve the appearance, if your dentist has artistic skill with cosmetic work, it will not solve the pain your are in. It sounds like your bite has collapsed as a result of the teeth grinding. This is going to lead to TMJ Disorder, which will put you in even more pain.

The solution in a case like yours is to have a full-mouth reconstruction, which means putting a crown on every tooth in order to build your bite back into the right position. However, this is the single most advanced procedure in general dentistry. It is not taught adequately in dental school. You will need a dentist who has invested a lot of post-doctoral training in both TMJ Treatment and Reconstructive Dentistry.

If this is done incorrectly, you will end up in more pain than before. In your position, I would look for a dentist who has significant training in one of the following institutions.

  • The Pankey Institute
  • Dawson Academy
  • The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies

The first two are located in Florida. The last one is (obviously) located in Las Vegas. They will have the knowledge necessary to make sure when they do build up your bite, they do it correctly.

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

Having Doubts about this Lumineers Case

Posted on by writeradmin.

My husband purchased me a Lumineers package for my birthday. I went in and had all the planning and tooth preparation done and then was just waiting for them to arrive. Several weeks passed and then the cosmetic dentist called and said that something is wrong with the impressions and they need to be re-done. Is this a common thing? As my husband had already paid should I be worried that he is just going to keep our money and not actually ever provide the Lumineers?

Elle

Dear Elle,

Advertisement with Lumineers including a woman smiling and a single veneer being held by a tool

I have some concerns here, but not that you will not get your smile makeover. My concern is you are going to get your smile makeover and hate it.  Here are some things you need to know. First, cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. This means any dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist regardless of the amount of training they’ve received. Second, smile makeovers are not taught in dental school, so that training is imperative for a dentist to do a respectable job at these procedures. This leads me to Lumineers themselves.

Lumineers are simply a brand of porcelain veneers. However, they are a brand that is heavily marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists. I have a very bad feeling that your dentist falls into this category for a reason we’ll go into in a moment. Almost all expert cosmetic dentists do not like the brand. This is mostly because the company insists you use their lab, which is not known for its artistic results.

As for your dentist and the impression, that is a completely different concern. While it is not totally unheard of for impressions to need to be re-done,  and it happens to even the best dentists, it is the duration with yours that has me concerned.  The lab would have known right away that something wasn’t right and contacted your dentist. Maybe because he is so new that he was embarrassed and didn’t contact you right away. But, the length of time tells m that either he held onto it or he sent it back to the lab, telling them to try to work with it, but it was so bad they said no work could be done.

Here is one thing you can do to protect yourself when it comes to cosmetic work. Insist your dentist use a try-in paste when the Lumineers finally arrive.  This is a water-soluble gell that allows you to have your Lumineers tried on without permanently bonding them on. You should then get a good look at them in several lights. Only give your approval for them to be bonded on if you are pleased with how your new smile looks. If you aren’t, tell your dentist what you aren’t thrilled with and he should send them back to the lab to be redone until you are thrilled.

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

The Secret to Very White Teeth

Posted on 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,

Zoom Whitening

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.

Lumineers over Crowns

Posted on 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,

Lumineers over Crowns Advertisement

 

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.