Monthly Archives: November 2013

Lumineers

My dentist stained my lumineers

I spent over $15,000 on a smile makeover and my dentist put a stain on my Lumineers on purpose!  Do you know if I can fix this? He insists it is necessary to make it look natural, but if I wanted my natural teeth, I wouldn’t have spent this much money for new ones.

Dana C. – Portsmouth, VA

Dana,

This is a typical issue. Someone who is not an artistic cosmetic dentist, but knows how to do a few cosmetic procedures is a dangerous thing.  While he may have been taught in dental school that it is important to make a smile look natural, people who get porcelain veneers are not after any smile. They want something stunning.

Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to get is to get new veneers. You’ll want to go to a different dentist though. I’d ask for a refund.  You may have to cover the lab fees, but seeing as you’re going to have to have the procedure re-done, he may agree to refund his chair time.

When you go to an artistic cosmetic dentist, he may suggest something other than Lumineers. Don’t panic. Bear in mind that they are just one brand of porcelain veneers and he may know of a brand that will give you a better smile.

I’m sorry you’ve had to go through such a tough, expensive lesson. Hopefully others will learn from what you have been through.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.

Affordable Dentist

Dental Crown disaster

I needed two crowns. I didn’t have much money so I called around to find the cheapest dentist. He did such a bad job that it completely threw off my bite.  It got so bad that I developed TMJ, which is costing me even more than the crowns. What a disaster!

Penny L.- West Virginia

Penny,

You’ve discovered an important principle in dentistry. Cheap does not necessarily mean affordable.  There are affordable dentists who don’t compromise the quality of their materials. However, generally the least expensive dentist is that way for a reason. Sometimes it is just a matter of not being great at their profession and needing a way to draw customers in. For others, it is skimping on the appropriate materials.

What you want to do is look for a dentist who has reasonable fees, but still does quality work.  That usually won’t be the least expensive dentist. Many dentists have payment plans that allow you to pay out your work interest free.  Others do your dental work in stages so you only have to pay for one part of the procedure at a time.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix, AZ Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck

Phoenix Dentist

A comment about our website company

Our website is designed and maintained by Infinity Dental Web. We have found them very helpful and good to work with. When our site was launched, it took it a while to get significant rankings. They stayed with it and did extra work for us until it began performing, which we appreciate.

We see that they just launched a new website design for another one of their clients, Dr. David Newkirk, in Naperville Illinois. He is a well-known cosmetic dentist who is on the lecture circuit. Congratulations to Dr. Newkirk for a lovely design, and to Infinity Dental Web.

We can say, from our experience, that an effective website can indeed draw in patients. Before the SEO on our website was effective, we didn’t get any calls. Now we track calls as coming from our website every month, for a regular flow of new patients.

This blog is sponsored by the Phoenix dental office of Peck Family Dentistry.

 

Affordable Dentist

Unhappy with Lumineers that keep falling off

Q. I’ve had 5 Lumineers placed on my teeth. Since then, they have fallen off multiple times. As if it’s not aggravating enough to go back to the dentist for the same tooth to be re-bonded, just this last time I accidentally swallowed it. Now my dentist tells me I should do porcelain veneers that will run me $1200 per tooth. I just paid so much money for the Lumineers… what should I do?

A. I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard time with your Lumineers. Unfortunately, we hear a lot of stories about problems with Lumineers. The manufacturers of this product promotes it as being “no-prep”, and easy to place. That might make a dentist who is not too savvy in cosmetic dentistry feel they can handle this work, delivering an aesthetically pleasing product with a good outcome to the patient. Both Lumineers (which is just a brand name) and traditional porcelain veneers require a true cosmetic dentist who is well versed in these procedures. Everything from an artistic eye to having top notch materials (including appropriate bonding materials) to technique of the clinician can be the difference in a successful cosmetic and functional outcome versus not.  Porcelain veneers have more advantages than Lumineers, as they are more lifelike, and have proper strength. Lumineers are best suited for specific cases only. Seeking an opinion of another true cosmetic dentist in this scenario would be a good idea. Perhaps if you move forward with the porcelain veneers with your current dentist, asking if you could be credited what you paid for the Lumineers towards the porcelain veneers wouldn’t be unreasonable, and make the prospect more affordable.