Getting dental veneers

Toothsmith

MightyMen wrote: »

Hi guys,

First post on this forum, although I've been an avid reader for a couple of weeks now, so I hope I've put this in the right section and am allowed to make such a thread.

Basically, I'm far from happy about my teeth (to put it very lightly) and have been considering cosmetic surgery for a very long time now. On an abstract scale, my teeth are like 3.5 out of 10 and this has really impacted on my life negatively, contributing to low self-esteem and depression etc. I've now been working for a while and have saved up for a long time as well. My beautiful and amazing girlfriend is also prepared to help me with the cost (Heaven knows what I've done to deserve her) but I'm hoping I won't have to use her help.

I have a few questions to ask, though, and I'd be grateful if anyone could answer any of them:

• Have you had veneers before and what is your experience of them?
• Do veneers feel uncomfortable/unnatural in any way, especially when eating or brushing?
• From the research I've done, I can expect to pay around £500 per tooth? Is this about right or is it too low or too high an estimate?
• Do you know of a highly recommend London dentist who could do this for me?
• Generally, would you recommend them?

The last question seems a bit redundant because I've wanted to get my teeth 'fixed' for a long time now and I've been saving up for it, but I just thought I'd ask anyway. Apologies for so many questions and I'd be really grateful if anyone could help me with any of them.

Many thanks.

Back now!

TND has given you a very good answer, but I would add that you haven't told us if you are receiving regular dental care, or whether you're one of the 50% of the population who only look for a dentist when you have a toothache.

If you're the first, then your regular dentist is the best person to talk to about it. From the amount you've estimated for the cost, I really think you should ask your dentist for a referral to a cosmetic specialist.

If you do't have a regular dentist, and particularly if you haven't been for a fair while, then for the time being, I would pt anything cosmetic right out of your head.

The first thing you need to do is to find a good preventative dentist, and make sure your mouth is in absolute tip-top shape before you think about anything else. It's silly building a palace on a bog! get good foundations.

Regular visits will also educate you in to how to look after your teeth, so all this expensive work will look it's best for the longest possible time.


It is also possible that veneers might not be suitable for you. It completely depends on why your teeth 'look bad' as to what should be done to fix them. It might be that your teeth are arranged in such a way that orthodontics(braces) would be required to get them into a half decent position before veneers could finish the job. It might well be that something really conservative like a bit of tooth whitening, and a bit of a build up here and there with white filling might bring about a transformation.

Finding your dentist is the most important thing though. If you have one, then unless he does a lot of cosmetic work (or unless the necessary treatment is quite simple) I would ask for a referral to someone he trusts to do the sort of job you want.

If you don't have a dentist, then find a general dentist first (follow the hints in my signature at the bottom).

DON'T look through yellow pages - and if you do DON'T go somewhere that says NHS/Private/cosmetic on the advert!!! If the dentist does any NHS, then he/she is very unlikely to be as experienced in the cosmetic stuff as you want!!!! Finding a cosmetic dentist can be a real minefield, which is why it's best to get a general one first, and get referred.

MightyMen

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

I've got a lot to think about now. I'll keep thinking it over and will visit a few practices with free consultations and then come back and update this thread later. Thanks you again.

SandC

I understand what you are saying Toothsmith, but my dentist is primarily NHS (I think the thing on the window says NHS and Private). He doesn't have a picture ad in the yellow pages or anything. So it's not always the case that an NHS dentist won't be able to do cosmetic work well. I would recommend mine to anyone.

However - I will agree in that it is best if you have a regular dentist and he/she knows your teeth and has every other area sorted out before considering this. That would be the case for me and following on from Toothsmith's post my dentist probably does cosmetic work only for his regular patients, which is why he doesn't advertise as being cosmetic. No doubt if the job was going to be bigger he would have referred me elsewhere.

He did say when he'd finished that he was very pleased and it was pretty much the best veneer work he'd done so far.

Otherwise, yes agree with everything Toothsmith says.

Toothsmith

By only having 'free' consultations, you may well be limiting yourself.

A few 'free' ones might give you an idea of your options, but when choosing where to go, don't discount a place just because you have to pay. There's no-one I refer to who does a free consultation. The consultation is really THE most important bit - if a dentist does a 'free' consultation, then (for any thorough look) it's going to be 30mins- 45mins plus x-rays which a dentist can't be doing on a regular basis and then tetlling people they're not suitable for treatment.

This way of managing patients puts a lot of pressure on both dentist and patient to then go on and actually have treatment.

I would suggest you are much more likely to get a more thorough, and honest appraisal of your needs if you pay for the time a consultation takes.

As I said though, going for a few 'free' ones might give you a bit of an idea, but don't sign up to anything there and then. Always leave the practice and think about it.

You may well find the perfect dentist for you via a free consultation - just don't limit yourself.

Toothsmith

SandC wrote: »

I understand what you are saying Toothsmith, but my dentist is primarily NHS (I think the thing on the window says NHS and Private). He doesn't have a picture ad in the yellow pages or anything. So it's not always the case that an NHS dentist won't be able to do cosmetic work well. I would recommend mine to anyone.

However - I will agree in that it is best if you have a regular dentist and he/she knows your teeth and has every other area sorted out before considering this. That would be the case for me and following on from Toothsmith's post my dentist probably does cosmetic work only for his regular patients, which is why he doesn't advertise as being cosmetic. No doubt if the job was going to be bigger he would have referred me elsewhere.

He did say when he'd finished that he was very pleased and it was pretty much the best veneer work he'd done so far.

Otherwise, yes agree with everything Toothsmith says.

I would agree here completely - most dentists can do a nice looking crown or two. The OP seems to want qute a big job though, and the result will be very important to him. In this case - I would suggest that being referred by his regular dentist to a specialist cosmetic dentist is the way to go - especially as he seeems to have budgeted pretty accurately for this route anyway.

lolly5648

I dont know where you are in London but the Lotus clinic in North London does various types of veneers. I haven't had them but I am having implants done there. I know they have a special offer at the moment of £350 per tooth.

http://www.lotusclinic.co.uk/smilemakeover.php

Toothsmith

Good for a recommendation to crop up from someone who has a post count above 1 !!!!!!!

MightyMen

Toothsmith wrote: »

By only having 'free' consultations, you may well be limiting yourself.

A few 'free' ones might give you an idea of your options, but when choosing where to go, don't discount a place just because you have to pay. There's no-one I refer to who does a free consultation. The consultation is really THE most important bit - if a dentist does a 'free' consultation, then (for any thorough look) it's going to be 30mins- 45mins plus x-rays which a dentist can't be doing on a regular basis and then tetlling people they're not suitable for treatment.

This way of managing patients puts a lot of pressure on both dentist and patient to then go on and actually have treatment.

I would suggest you are much more likely to get a more thorough, and honest appraisal of your needs if you pay for the time a consultation takes.

As I said though, going for a few 'free' ones might give you a bit of an idea, but don't sign up to anything there and then. Always leave the practice and think about it.

You may well find the perfect dentist for you via a free consultation - just don't limit yourself.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. The main reason I'm going to these consultations is because I want to be able to ask the dentists questions personally and obviously the fact they'll be able to see my teeth and know the full extent of my 'problems' will be a major plus. I'm not easily manipulated, I don't think, and I know when to say no. I certainly won't be signing up to anything after my free consultation. I just want to know if there appears a general consensus from all the dentists and see which dentist makes me feel most comfortable.

Re your other post: I might be overplaying how bad my teeth are, I don't know. It's just become a psychological thing and similar to what SandC I think other people don't notice it as much as me. It's mainly my front two middle upper teeth and the middle two below them (sorry I don't know the proper jargon ). The thing with my other teeth is that whilst their shape isn't particularly bad, they seem to be mis-shaped from the top, like they've been worn down and look a bit wiggly. Sorry I can't explain it any clearer.

Thank you for the recommendation, lolly5648. I will look into that as well

MightyMen

BUMP!

Been a long time since I posted this and things have changed considerably. I've learned to become more comfortable with my teeth and I know that they aren't as bad as I thought- it was more a problem with my perception of myself.

I tried a few dentists after getting recommendations and I thought it was quite easy to distinguish between those trying to talk themselves into work and those being genuine. Where first I thought I needed veneers and lots of them, I now think more minor work is what's needed.

Part of that work involves drilling the top bit of my bottom teeth to make them smoother, which sounds awfully painful. Has anyone had this done before? Is it really painful? What are the after-effects? I asked my dentist these questions and he said it would hurt a little, but be over in 10 seconds. I don't really know why I'm questioning thing, but I just find it hard to believe that to solve the problem of uneven teeth surface, you just drill the top bit and leave it smooth. Just to verify, it isn't the front surface of my teeth that are really uneven, it's the top part. So, if you imagine teeth to be a house, then my front door is fine, but my roof is not, if that makes sense He also said veneers was a last resort because my teeth really weren't as bad as I thought, which I'm slowly coming to accept, and that I should get teeth whitening to remove the stains instead. The product they use is BriteSmile. What do we think of these products? I know you can get home kits too, but will it work? Finally, if I'm still unhappy with anything, I can also get composite veneers, just to make slighter alterations to sort of try and better the look. Is it recommended to do it this way or just get the veneers first?

Any advice on anything would be appreciated. Sorry if I haven't made much sense, but it's getting quite late and I really should be in bed now Thanks for any help in advance

Oh, oh, another quick question which I was pondering on earlier, is is possible to get veneers (either the composite or porcelain) on molars? It's just my frontest one on the one side which is rather unsightly. Thanks again.

tirednewdad

MightyMen wrote: »

BUMP!

Been a long time since I posted this and things have changed considerably. I've learned to become more comfortable with my teeth and I know that they aren't as bad as I thought- it was more a problem with my perception of myself.

I tried a few dentists after getting recommendations and I thought it was quite easy to distinguish between those trying to talk themselves into work and those being genuine. Where first I thought I needed veneers and lots of them, I now think more minor work is what's needed.

Part of that work involves drilling the top bit of my bottom teeth to make them smoother, which sounds awfully painful. Has anyone had this done before? Is it really painful? What are the after-effects?
I asked my dentist these questions and he said it would hurt a little, but be over in 10 seconds. I don't really know why I'm questioning thing, but I just find it hard to believe that to solve the problem of uneven teeth surface, you just drill the top bit and leave it smooth. Just to verify, it isn't the front surface of my teeth that are really uneven, it's the top part. So, if you imagine teeth to be a house, then my front door is fine, but my roof is not, if that makes sense He also said veneers was a last resort because my teeth really weren't as bad as I thought, which I'm slowly coming to accept, and that I should get teeth whitening to remove the stains instead. The product they use is BriteSmile. What do we think of these products? I know you can get home kits too, but will it work? Finally, if I'm still unhappy with anything, I can also get composite veneers, just to make slighter alterations to sort of try and better the look. Is it recommended to do it this way or just get the veneers first?

Any advice on anything would be appreciated. Sorry if I haven't made much sense, but it's getting quite late and I really should be in bed now Thanks for any help in advance

Oh, oh, another quick question which I was pondering on earlier, is is possible to get veneers (either the composite or porcelain) on molars? It's just my frontest one on the one side which is rather unsightly. Thanks again.

Sorry, my son has been up all night and this is my first break. I hope this makes sense.

To just smooth the top of the tooth surface to get them even in hieght shouldn't hurt unless in very rare circumstances- you'll be ok.

secondly- Brightsmile is a bleaching kit- it can only change the colour of the mineral in the teeth. It will not remove staining, although this can be easily cleaned off. I find a suprisingly high number of my patients ask for white teeth by bleaching and i always give them a clean first. The majority are so happy with the results that they decided to postpone the bleaching.

The home kits are absolute pants IMO- although they are improving.

The composite veneers is something you have to discuss futher with your dentist. From what i think they are suggesting, these composite veneers are less distructive than normal veneers. talk to your dentist though.

You can get Veneers on molars, but often crowns are suggested instead for increased strength.

Got to go- need sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:shhh: