Services

Question: What are Veneers ( aka porcelain veneers, laminates )?

Answer: Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or resin material that gets bonded (glued) to the front of your teeth. For teeth that are chipped, severely discolored, crowded, spaced, rotated or misshaped in any way, these veneers can create a durable and pleasing smile for many years to come. Veneers are difficult to stain, making them popular for people seeking a perfect smile.

There are two types of veneers:

Porcelain (indirect) veneers, which must first be created to custom fit your teeth in a dental laboratory and require two visits to your dentist. Porcelain veneers may vary from $900-2,500 per tooth and last from 10-15 years or more. While more expensive than other other alternatives, porcelain veneers usually offer a more precise, realistic color to match your surrounding teeth

Composite (direct) veneers, in which composite resins are bonded to your tooth in a single visit. Composite veneers cost significantly less, around $250-400 per tooth, but usually need to be maintained or replaced sooner than the porcelain version.

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Time to ring in the New Year with a smile! Whether you want to whiten your teeth for that big night out or if you want to keep it going for rest of the year, here is an answer for a common teeth whitening question.

Question: Which is a better way to whiten your teeth using an In-Office or At-Home whitening system?

Answer:In-Office whitening (i.e. Zoom! or Britesmile) is a faster alternative for achieving that brighter smile, with a high degree of predictability. This method has been very popular with anyone whose free time is limited to who just wants instant gratification. Many times patients do the In-Office whitening in combination with custom home trays. The home trays, when used beforehand, can be used to help condition the teeth for more dramatic In-Office results. They can also be used for a period of time after an In-Office session in order to continue the whitening process, or to help lock the shade that was achieved. It is recommended to keep your custom trays for periodic touch ups either before a big event, or to use a couple of times per year to maintain the shade you attained. In-Office whitening procedures allow the dentist to whiten their patient’s teeth up to 15 shades in about an hour (the average shade change being 8 shades). Some individuals may choose not to wear custom tray if they are more hypersensitive or prone to a gag reflex.

The composite resin (tooth-colored) fillings have come a long way in recent years. Their strength and longevity are now comparable to that of the silver fillings, but with much-enhanced esthetics. The dentist has the capability to match the filling exactly to the shade and color of your tooth such that no one else will ever know you had a cavity. Another advantage of these tooth-colored restorations is that the preparation is relatively conservative. Only decay is removed, and the filling is then bonded to the area that has been prepared.

Silver fillings do not have the same bonding capacity, and therefore rely on mechanical retention to hold the filling in place. As a result, good tooth structure is taken away to create the ideal depth and undercuts required to achieve adequate retention. Another advantage of composite restorations is that they are typically less sensitive to hot or cold, as metal tends to conduct temperature more readily. Since 1990, when “60 Minutes” ran a story on the alleged risks of dental amalgam (Silver-Mercury fillings), there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage.