Monthly Archives: February 2018

Lumineers

My Grandmother Said I Have Mr. Ed Teeth

I just got my teeth re-done with Lumineers and I was really excited about them until my grandmother said I had Mr. Ed teeth. I looked it up. Mr. Ed is a horse! Now I’m no longer sure my teeth are beautiful. Can Lumineers be removed?

Dana

Dear Dana,

A porcelain veneer being placed on a tooth

I’m very sorry your grandmother caused you to feel insecure about your teeth. I don’t know your grandmother, but it wasn’t a kind thing to say. If you were thrilled with your smile makeover, then maybe there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them and your grandmother is a bit on the mean side. Not all grandmothers are sweet and loving.

However, it’s a different story if you’re unhappy with your Lumineers. Depending on the dentist and the process he uses, some Lumineers can look bulky. A good cosmetic dentist can do them right. Just look in the mirror and smile. If you love them, they’re fine and it doesn’t matter what your grandma said.

If You Don’t Like Your Lumineers

Everyone has different tastes. You’ll never find a smile that everyone thinks is perfect and some people are just plain mean out of jealousy. If you don’t like them, however, that’s a completely different story.

If your Lumineers are already permanently bonded on, then they can’t just be removed. They can, however, be replaced. A good cosmetic dentist would never leave a patient unhappy with their smile. Usually, they’ll have some form of a beautiful smile guarantee where they’ll try on your new porcelain veneers with a temporary try-in paste. This allows you to see what they look like on your teeth and decide if you’re 100% satisfied before permanently bonding them.

I hope this helps.

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

Affordable Dentist

Affordable Neighborhood Dentist? Where?

Why does where you live seem to determine how much you have to pay for the dentist? We stretched ourselves financially in order to live in a better neighborhood, but the dentist here is almost double what our old neighborhood dentist cost. I don’t want to have to drive across town into the heart of an area we felt was unsafe in order to get affordable dental care.

Nora

Dear Nora,

Dollar sign hatched from an egg

It would be nice if the quality of all dentists were reliably equal, but that isn’t the case. The cost of a dentist varies based on several factors, though it is possible to find highly skilled dentists which are affordable, even in better neighborhoods. First, I’ll go over some factors which affect cost.

Building Costs can Affect the Cost of Dentistry

You’ve heard the expression, “Location, location, location…” Often offices in better neighborhoods have to pay exorbitant rental costs on their building. It’s hard for them to stay afloat, so their prices are higher so they can stay in business in that area.

This is one of the reasons Dr. Peck chose a location just outside a more expensive area. This enabled him to keep his costs reasonable for people in more than one type of neighborhood.

Skill Can Affect the Affordability of Dentistry

While some dentists do not raise their prices simply because they have exceptional skills, some do. They’ve spent a great deal of money and time furthering both their education and their skills. They need to make up the cost of that education.

Affordable Dentistry versus Cheap Dentistry

On the other end of the spectrum, there are dentists who lower their prices significantly just to draw patients in, but the quality of their work isn’t up to snuff. They keep their profits up by purchasing lower quality materials.

Think of it this way. What’s more affordable, a crown that lasts fifteen years and costs $900.00 or a crown that lasts four years and costs $500.00? Obviously, the cheaper crown ends up costing you significantly more in the long run.

Ideally, you want to find a dentist who does quality work at a reasonable price. Most dentists will offer some type of payment plan option for work that has a higher cost because of the nature of the procedure.

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

Pediatric Dentistry

Pediatric Dentist Yelled at My Daughter

My daughter is very inquisitive. I told him this before her appointment. I also told him that if he’d take just a couple of minutes before the appointment and explain what the tools are and what he’s going to do, she’d be fine and quiet. Without that, she’s likely to interrupt, grab, and ask a million questions. Well, guess what? He didn’t listen to me. He seemed rushed, greeted her and went straight into her check-up. She kept reaching around and stopping him to ask questions. He’d tell her to be still which lasted for a bit, but then the questions and reaching would start again. Eventually, he just shouted at her to shut up so he can finish. I don’t know if it was a bad day or what, but now my daughter thinks of the dentist as the “mean man” and doesn’t want to go back. Is there a way to fix this?

Mad Mom

Dear Mad Mom,

Child sitting in Pediatric Dentist chair

I don’t blame you for being upset. This is a disaster, but I think it can be salvaged. I don’t know if this is regular behavior for your pediatric dentist. It doesn’t sound like you do either. Because you were explaining your daughter’s personality to him it sounds like this may have been a new relationship. The first thing I’d do is check his online reviews. If he’s done this kind of thing before I’m sure someone would have mentioned it. I’d just look for another pediatric dentist in that case. Your daughter doesn’t need a “mean man” for her care.

If everyone seems to have had a positive experience with him, it’s likely something caused him to have an unbelievably bad day. I’m reminded of that scene in “It’s a Wonderful Life” where the pharmacist was cruel to the boy and it turned out he’d just found out his son had died. We never know what’s going on in a person’s life. If he’s a good man who made a mistake, he likely feels terrible about it. It would be a good opportunity to teach about forgiveness. Of course, he’d need to be willing to apologize to your little girl and tell her he’ll not do that again.

He’ll also need to be willing to follow your original advice and take her through all the cool tools. In fact, as part of the apology, maybe he can even take her on a little tour of the entire office.

A Good Pediatric Dentist Leaves a Postive Outlook in Children

At Peck Family Dentistry, Hillary Peck is fantastic with the children. Even though she’s not a pediatric specialist she loves working with the little ones and always brings them joy. IF it turns out this dentist is a dud, you can look for a general dentist who’s great with kids. Maybe even your dentist so you and your daughter can have a shared experience going to the dentist together.

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