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matching teeth to eyeballs?

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I wanted to know if it is possible to use teeth whitening to match my teeth to my eyeballs?

Luke

Dear Luke,

custom-fitted teeth whitening trays

I want to give you points for the most unique question I have received. There are two factors in answering this question.

First, a lot of the answers will depend on one how white your eyeballs are. While teeth can be bleached exceptionally white, there are limits to its whitening ability.

The second factor is that teeth whitening results vary quite a bit. This is why when someone is getting a complete smile makeover we have them bleach their teeth first. You get much more accurate results when you are matching porcelain veneers to a color, than when you are using teeth whitening.

If it is just a color you are going for, then you can attempt to do it with teeth whitening and see if it gives you the color you want. It is the least expensive way to give yourself a mini makeover.

However, if there was more you wanted to change about your teeth, such as their shape or size, in addition to the color, then the way to go is with porcelain veneers.

As I mentioned above, they can be made to any color you desire. But that isn’t all. A great cosmetic dentist can lengthen and widen your teeth, completely changing the character of your smile. Depending on how the dentist shapes your teeth, he can change the appearance of your smile to look youthful, sporty, authoritative…whatever you want.

However, it does require some expertise and will be more expensive. Unlike teeth whitening, which any dentist can do equally well, to do truly beautiful smile makeovers takes advanced technical and artistic ability.

This is only developed after extensive post-doctoral training. Doing smile makeovers isn’t taught in dental school. In your place, I’d look for an AACD accredited dentist. They are in the top 1% of cosmetic dentists in the country. Any smile they create for you will be absolutely stunning.

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

Overbite and porcelain veneers

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I have pretty bad tetracycline stains and wanted to get porcelain veneers to help cover them. My dentist said I am not a candidate for porcelain veneers because of my overbite. Instead, he wants to do dental crowns on my top six teeth. Is this a good alternate solution? Do I just bleach the bottom teeth?

Kaitlyn

Dear Katilyn,

A tetracycline case done by Dr. Delaune.

Please don’t let your dentist do dental crowns. This will require him to grind your healthy teeth down to nubs. He is likely saying that because he doesn’t know how to do porcelain veneers. I’ll give him credit for having a creative excuse. I’ve never heard a dentist use an overbite as an excuse. In reality, an overbite is easier with porcelain veneers.

You can see from the image above that a tetracycline case can be made to look stunning. There is a big “HOWEVER” when you’re considering this though. Smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school. Instead, a dentist has to invest in post-doctoral training in order to truly know how to create a beautiful smile. Now, factor in tetracycline stains. These are among the most difficult type of cosmetic cases to do.

What you need is an expert cosmetic dentist. The images above show a tetracycline case done by Dr. Delaune. You want to find a dentist with his training and skills in artistry.

Finding that Expert Cosmetic Dentist

One thing I will suggest is you look on the mynewsmile.com website. This site is run by a retired dentist who is accredited in cosmetic dentistry. He screens each dentist who wants to be listed for both their technical training as well as looking to see what type of beauty they create in the cases they do.

One thing to be aware of, I”m pretty sure whichever cosmetic dentist you end up with will suggest more than six porcelain veneers. Most of our smiles are at least eight teeth wide.

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

Can I rinse with peroxide to whiten my teeth?

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I learned that teeth whitening is mostly a peroxide mixture. Couldn’t I get a faster and similar results by rinsing with peroxide at home? I want to get this done quickly. My dentist is talking about me wearing the peroxide gel for a few weeks. I’m thinking straight peroxide will be better.

Lucy

Dear Lucy,

You want to get teeth whitening done fast and you can, but it won’t happen with rinsing your teeth with peroxide. You are correct that a teeth whitening gel is made of peroxide. However, it is only effective if it soaks into your teeth.

When your dentist creates a tooth whitening tray for you, he does it so they will have a close custom fit to your natural teeth. With the solution being a gel, it will stay on your teeth better in the tray.

It will need to soak in for a minimum of 15 minutes a day for there to be any whitening effect. I don’t think you’re going to feel comfortable rinsing for 15 minutes a day. Even then, it would take a few weeks.

Getting Your Teeth Whitened Fast

If you really want your teeth whitened fast, look for a dentist who offers Zoom Whitening. This is an in-office procedure that will completely whiten your teeth in just one appointment.

This is a safer option for you than gargling with peroxide every day.

A Smile Makeover

Another option for fast, white teeth is to get a complete smile makeover with porcelain veneers. I would only recommend this if you want to change more than just the color of your teeth.

Porcelain veneers can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth all at the same time. It’s what celebrities use as their go-to for their Hollywood smile.

If all you want is to do whiten your teeth then I would just stick with Zoom. It is much less expensive.

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

whitening tetracycline teeth

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I’ve had tetracycline-stained teeth since I was a child. It has always been a source of horrible embarrassment for me. My dentist said teeth whitening wouldn’t do much good for me and not to waste my money. He didn’t have a solution for me either. Is there anything I can do or am I just going to have to learn to live with a smile I’d rather hide?

Betsy

Dear Betsy,

While one particular brand of teeth whitening has had more success with these stains than others, most make hardly any difference at all. That doesn’t mean all is lost.

As you can see from this smile makeover that Dr. Deluane did on a patient, there is a way to obtain a beautiful smile after tetracycline stains. Here Dr. Delaune used porcelain veneers. This enabled him not only to cover her stains, but to reshape her teeth to add length.

I don’t want you to think you can just run to your family dentist and get porcelain veneers and all will be beautiful and shiny. These are among the most difficult cosmetic dentistry cases to do. It would take a dentist with advanced cosmetic training.

The difficulty comes in needing to make the porcelain veneers opaque enough to cover the dark tetracycline stains, yet translucent enough to have their natural shine.

Finding an Expert Cosmetic Dentist

I’m going to suggest you go to the mynewsmile.com website. A cosmetic dentist cannot just pay to be listed. They have to prove their cosmetic education as well as provide case samples to show they can get beautiful results.

However, while everyone listed on that site is an expert cosmetic dentist, tetracycline cases are a beast of their own. I’d like you to go one step further and ask to see specific before and after pictures of cases they’ve done dealing with tetracycline. You want to be certain they’re able to get the beautiful results you’re dreaming of. Then, you will have a smile you are delighted to share with the world.

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

Lumineers versus DURAthin

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I’m planning on a smile makeover. I’ve been looking at images of both Lumineers and DURAthin. I like the DURAthin a lot better based on what I’ve seen, but wondered about cost. Are the DURAthin much more expensive?

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

A woman getting a porcelain veneer placed on her teeth

I’m concerned you are going about this the wrong way. It really isn’t the brand of porcelain veneers you get. It is the dentist. Let’s say two sculptors purchase the exact same type of marble to sculpt the same subject. It’s very likely one of them will have much more lifelike and beautiful work than the other. The skill of the artist truly matters.

The same is true for cosmetic dentistry. Whether you get Lumineers, DURAthin, or another brand won’t matter as much. I will say that most expert cosmetic dentists do not like the Lumineers brand. This is because they force dentists to use their lab which isn’t known for beautiful results.

What I’d like you to do instead of shopping brands is to shop dentists, but not by price. Instead, shop them by skill and artistry. Then, let them pick the best brand of porcelain veneers for the smile you want. They know the characteristics of each brand.

Finding an Expert Cosmetic Dentist

Smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school If a general dentist is interested in doing cosmetic dentistry, they have to take the initiative to learn it. That means going to post-doctoral institutions to learn about things such as color theory, bonding techniques, the aesthetics of porcelain veneers, etc.

So how is a patient to know if a dentist has done that? One way is to just ask them where they received their cosmetic training. You’d also want to look at their smile gallery to see what type of results they’ve gotten on the cases they completed. Be certain to ask whether or not the smile gallery represents their work and isn’t just stock photos. You want to see what they produce. You’ll also want to be certain they’re willing to stand behind their work with a beautiful smile guarantee.

However, you should be aware there is a website which has already done this research on cosmetic dentists. You could just go to mynewsmile.com and click on their “Find a cosmetic dentist” link. They’ve screened every dentist on there for both their technical training as well as their artistry. You’ll be in good hands with any dentist they recommend. All you have to do is input your zip code along with how far you’re willing to travel and they pull up a list of highly qualified dentists who can give you the smile of your dreams.

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

Regular Versus Zoom Whitening

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I want to get my teeth whitened. I was going to my dentist to get those trays but everyone is saying Zoom is better. Should I do that instead? I’m so confused. I tend to be a people pleaser so I feel bad when someone tells me to do something and I pick something else.

Patsy

Dear Patsy,

Patient using Zoom Whitening light

Don’t feel bad about going a different direction if that is what’s better for you. I wouldn’t say that Zoom Whitening is better; just that it is faster. With Zoom, your teeth are whitened quickly in just one appointment.

It uses a special light (pictured above) which activates the whitening gel allowing the process to move faster. Your teeth will get as white as possible in that one appointment.

With at-home whitening, your dentist will use the trays to custom fit them to your teeth, then provide you with professional strength whitening gel. It will get your teeth just as white, it just takes longer and works more gradually.

This is ideal for people who want to control the level of whitening. Or people who don’t want to suddenly show up with super white teeth. Instead, it will happen gradually and won’t be a sudden change which makes it obvious you’ve had your teeth whitened.

So, one is not better than the other, just different ways of accomplishing the same goal— getting your teeth as white as you want them.

When You Want to Change More than Their Color

Some people are thrilled with just getting their teeth whitened. They already have fantastic teeth which just picked up stains as they got older.

Others, however, have several things they wish they could change about their teeth. If that happens to be you, porcelain veneers may be a better option for you. They give you a total smile makeover. The veneers can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth all in one go.

They are more pricey than teeth whitening, so only do it if you want to completely remake your smile.

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

Before Getting Lumineers, Read This

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The Lumineers brand is heavily marketed to both patients and dentists. You see those pictures of the models with their gorgeous smiles and dream about that being you. And it can… but you may need something other than Lumineers to make that dream come true. Here are some things that can make your smile makeover a dream come true instead of a nightmare.

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

Lumineers is Just a Brand

Let’s say you keep seeing advertisements for the wonders of plastic plates. You see commercials of families entertaining and everyone having a great time with them. They’re great. If you want to entertain maybe you should get them. But, what if instead, you could get gorgeous, sturdy designer marble plates for around the same price. Suddenly those plastic plates aren’t looking so great.

A brand is just that. A brand. There are many brands of porcelain veneers. Each brand has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Lumineers is Marketed to Inexperienced Cosmetic Dentists

The dentists who offer Lumineers the most often are inexperienced cosmetic dentists. They tell the dentists they’re easy to place because they’re ultra-thin and don’t require tooth preparation. The biggest problem with that is many smiles require at least a minimal tooth prep even with ultra-thin brands. Without that, the results end up looking bulky.

Many patients have come to our practice to fix the cosmetic disaster they received from another dentist, describing the results as “horse teeth”. That’s probably not the smile you’re dreaming of.

Lumineers Biggest Weakness is their Lab

The Lumineers brand is owned by the DenMat Company. They require all dentists who choose to use their brand to also use their lab. This lab doesn’t have a great reputation for producing beautiful work. Many cases end up looking bulky, chalky, and opaque.

The best cosmetic dentists prefer working with the lab of their choice. Having a ceramist you work well with is extraordinarily important in producing beautiful results.

The Most Important Decision for Your Smile Makeover is the Dentist You Choose

You not only need an experienced cosmetic dentist, but you also need an artistic one as well. So, how is a patient to know who can produce gorgeous smiles and who can’t? My recommendation is that you look on the mynewsmile.com website.

They screen cosmetic dentists who wish to be listed. Each dentist has to prove their knowledge, technical skill, and artistry through extensive scrutiny and examination. Anyone on their list will give you a stunning smile. Just don’t be surprised if they recommend a different brand for you.

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