Cost of Tooth Veneers

jammy78

Toothsmith wrote: »

The +£50 colour match bit seems a bit odd to me. Why don't they just say £650? If you pay just £600, do you get one of a random colour??

Why do they think that corner of your tooth has gone transparent? Is it because it's wearing away at the back? If so - they need to be careful, as if wear is going on, veneers fracture - they don't wear.

The actual price sounds about right - I'm just a bit dubious about the 'marketing'!

Veneering is a quick way to make teeth look all 'Holywood' but it does have consequences. The major one is that you will take teeth that may look a bit peculiar, but are essentially healthy and have the potential to last you a lifetime with little maintenance, and turning them into porcelain-clad monuments that will need a fair bit of maintenance over the rest of your life.

Be sure that the result you want is worth the cost. (Dental - not monitary)

Hi Toothsmith,

Yes my dentist thinks it transparent because of wear. He did say I'm probably grinding my teeth and should use a guard (£190), but no thanks!

I don't think the veneer is the best route and now after your post I'm going to cancel, as the tooth is not that bad!

There must be another way they can repair it, maybe a thin inlay behind the tooth?

Now to get my £650 back.

Thanks for the advice!

Toothsmith

jammy78 wrote: »

Hi Toothsmith,

Yes my dentist thinks it transparent because of wear. He did say I'm probably grinding my teeth and should use a guard (£190), but no thanks!

I don't think the veneer is the best route and now after your post I'm going to cancel, as the tooth is not that bad!

There must be another way they can repair it, maybe a thin inlay behind the tooth?

Now to get my £650 back.

Thanks for the advice!

Not even an inlay - a bit of white filling bonded behind the tooth might do it. All depends on how much room there is between the worn bit and the lower teeth.

I certainly wouldn't have the veneer done if your not prepared to wear a bite guard. And not wearing one would give the dentist a 'get out of jail free' card if he'd recommended one, and you'd not taken it, and the veneer broke. Personally though, I would refuse to make a veneer on a grinder if the patient didn't want to wear a bite guard.

It may well be that anything done to improve that tooth will fail without one. (Nothing we have is stronger than your own enamel - and if that's wearing away.....) So I would not just dismiss it. The problem is likely to get worse without it.

Toothsmith

erique7 wrote: »

Hey Toothsmith!

Thanks for the concern, athough I was not naive enough to just let them turn my teeth into 'porcelain-clad monuments' (love that phrase ) without prior consideration!

I had always hated my teeth and had been saving up for the procedure before I'd got the job. Plus one of my closest friends has just qualified as a dentist and by the time I need them replacing she would have finished her cosmetics training and will do them at mates rates for me!

Emma

That's good! - Too often these things are done without really going into the aftercare and what the implications of the treatment are.

Programs like '10 years younger' really pee me off for that. They take people with really grotty teeth and transform them without any real thought as to whether they will be able to look after all that expensive work (They've not exactly been good dental attenders in the past!) and even worse - who will pay for all the necessary aftercare once the cameras have packed up and moved on to the next show.

angel

jammy78 wrote: »

Hi Toothsmith,

Yes my dentist thinks it transparent because of wear. He did say I'm probably grinding my teeth and should use a guard (£190), but no thanks!

I don't think the veneer is the best route and now after your post I'm going to cancel, as the tooth is not that bad!

There must be another way they can repair it, maybe a thin inlay behind the tooth?

Now to get my £650 back.

Thanks for the advice!

£190 for a guard??

I had one made in November and it cost me £50!

jammy78

Time to find a new dentist! Cancelled my vaneer and now have to wait 2 weeks for my £650 back! Also if I had only done one tooth, even with the colour match you will still be able to notice the difference. So I would have ended up doing them all!!!!!

Yep, £190 for the guard! I thought this was expensive and I think my dentist is trying it on - I know for sure now if you only paid £50 for one!

Wish me luck in trying to find a NHS dentist with space!

Thanks for the help!!!!

Toothsmith

£190 isn't too bad for a properly adjusted hard night bite guard.

A lot of dentists, (Me included) tend to start off with much simpler soft ones that look a bit like a gumshield. These are much easier to make, and don't require ajustment on fitting.

Hard ones can be comfier for some patients, and, some dentists argue, are more likely to cure the problem completely.

DON'T throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you are used to paying for your dentistry privately - look for another private one. You WILL notice a difference going back to an NHS one if indeed you do find one.

Are there other reasons why you are unhappy with your current dentist? It sounds to me that a chat about other options, and a little bit more explaination of the treatments is all that's needed here. I can't see much that he has done WRONG.

jammy78

Toothsmith wrote: »

£190 isn't too bad for a properly adjusted hard night bite guard.

A lot of dentists, (Me included) tend to start off with much simpler soft ones that look a bit like a gumshield. These are much easier to make, and don't require ajustment on fitting.

Hard ones can be comfier for some patients, and, some dentists argue, are more likely to cure the problem completely.

DON'T throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you are used to paying for your dentistry privately - look for another private one. You WILL notice a difference going back to an NHS one if indeed you do find one.

Are there other reasons why you are unhappy with your current dentist? It sounds to me that a chat about other options, and a little bit more explaination of the treatments is all that's needed here. I can't see much that he has done WRONG.

This is a NHS dentist!

I just the feeling from this dentist he is ripping me off! He says I'm grinding my teeth but the transparent bit has not got worse in the last 2 years! Are you sure I''m grinding, answers no!

Also there are things I've asked - like there is a thin transparent line down the sides of my front teeth and he can't explain what it is!

So he doesn't feel me with confidence, as if he messes the veneer up... i'll be in trouble!

I suppose this is what you get on the NHS?

Toothsmith

Those fees do seem a bit high for an NHS dentist who does a bit of private on the side.

I have said before that private dentistry really should be a 'whole' experience. A private dentist should be looking after less patients in order to give a better service.

An NHS dentist still has to have a lot of patients on his books, and so things like emergency appointments, and actual surgery time to discuss and explain treatments will be compromised.

This is part of the reason for the higher prices.

This guy does seem to want to have his cake and eat it with prices akin to a 'proper' private practice, and yet still dealing with the volume of NHS.

You are aware that the veneer is a private price, as that's cosmetic?

The bite guard now makes sense to me in terms of price.

It's a lab made thing, and all lab made things are in Band 3 on the NHS, and the Band 3 charge is £190!

So - he's quoted you the NHS fee for a bite guard!!!!

He'd probably do that privately much cheaper - but my guess is that he sees that as an easy 12 funding points towards his total.

He is actually behaving perfectly correctly in terms of his NHS contract though! The bite guard is a 'necessary' item as opposed to a 'cosmetic' one, and it SHOULD be provided on the NHS to an NHS patient!!!

Just shows how crackers the system is!!

nichno

Hi, I have not been to the dentist in 12 years i am ashamed to say..i had porcelain veneers put on abut 14 years ago (when i was 14) and over time the front tooth has half chipped off and one has fallen off completely. I am only in my twenties and obviously my teeth are not in a good state at all. I was wondering if i am able to get treatment on the nhs to fix this as i have no way at all to afford to get it done privately or will i have to live with crooked teeth forever? Im really scared about going to the dentist due to the state of my teeth but realise i just cant put it off anymore. Any help much appeciated!

Savvy_Sue

I am sure one of the dentists will be along in due course, BUT basically if it's 'necessary' you should be able to get it on the NHS (may not be cheap even then!) If it's cosmetic rather than necessary, you can't.

Whether it is cosmetic or not, your teeth can't get any better as long as you put off going, so try and get over the fear and get along!