Free Veneers at a UK dental school?

jsvp_2

Hi All,

Please could someone tell me if UK dental schools offer free/cheap veneers if you're willing to be treated by a student dentist (under the close supervision of an expert of course!)? The chips are just cosmetic and there isn't any sensitivity.

I need 2 upper front teeth done (so roughly £1,400 worth of work :eek:)

Thanks,

jsvp

paulwellerfan

i would be intrested in this as well.
( wouldnt we all)

brook2jack

Not a chance. Dental schools offer limited treatment which does not include cosmetic work.

For small chips veneers may be unnecessarily destructive, bonded White fillings may be better and you perhaps need advice on why teeth have chipped and address that . Have you actually seen a dentist and asked their advice?

jsvp_2

Hi brook2jack, yes my dentist is quoting £700 per tooth. The chips are too big for fillings :-(

Is cosmetic dental work not taught by dental schools, is it more of a post-graduation/specialist course? Either way surely dentists practice on patients under supervision before letting loose on the public?

brook2jack

Dental schools have many people wanting treatment and limited budgets.

They also deal with the rehabilitation of people who have problems doe to trauma, cancer, developmental problems such as cleft palate , severe medical problems.

The cost of dentally rehabilitating one oral cancer patient will cost upwards of £35,000.

There is more than enough experience to be had in helping people who have severe problems, whose treatment will vastly improve their speech,eating and quality of life. It is unfair to expand waiting lists any further than they already are by opening them up to people who want vanity dentistry.

Cosmetic dentistry is a speciality in itself and as all dentists have to commit to postgraduate training the majority do their highly expensive training in this post grad. As they already have the basics dentistsinitially train on phantom heads (dummy heads) and then have a couple of their regular patients as mentored training cases (ie trainer oversees treatment).These are normally longstanding patients who know dentist is training in a particular technique and hence pay a discounted rate.

jsvp_2

Thanks brook2jack, much appreciated!

Does anyone know which Polish dentists are considered 'the best'? (there seems to be very little information on the internet regarding actual reviews/client satisfaction).

I'm happy to pay at the top end (of Polish prices!) if need be.

Thanks,

jsvp

jsvp_2

I found this reviews website which covers Polish dentists whatclinic.com/dentists/poland/veneers

Artdent and IndexMedica seem to be getting a lot of good reviews but I'm wondering why the other companies have so few reviews, I must be getting suspicious with my age!

If anyone has any recommendations I would be very grateful!

Toothsmith

There is a lot more to veneers than just whacking a bit of porcelain onto the front of a tooth.

To start with, why are the teeth chipped in the first place?

Is it trauma? If so, then is it likely to happen again? (do you take part in sports where you're likely to get a knock?) If so, then a veneer will shatter much more spectacularly than a tooth will - especially if it has been weakened with a veneer preperation!

Is it tooth grinding? If so, is this controlled? Do you have a bite guard?

Is it occupational? Are you an electrician who bears wires with his teeth? Are you a hairdresser who opens hair grips with the teeth? Do you do a lot of packing, and bite selotape?

Is it habitual? Are you a fingernail biter? Are you someone who absent mindedly chews the end of your biro?

All these possible causes of the wear need to be investigated, as the veneers will break far more easily than your teeth have.

Once you've looked at and eliminated possible causes of the wear, you need to be fully aware that veneers are very fragile restorations, and you are likely to need replacement about every 8-10 years on average. If you have a diet or habits that are likely to increase staining (Smoking, drinking lots of tea or coffee) and you are fussy about the looks, then you may well want themchanging more frequently than that.

Evey change will take away a little bit more tooth, until the health of the tooth is compromised.

This leads to the question of how much tooth will be removed for the initial preperation? Ideally, you want as little tooth removed as possible. But if your goal is to have the teeth made as straight as possible, or for the maximum cosmetic appearence - a lot more tooth will need to be taken away. The eastern european dental schools do teach a bit more aggressive removal than is taught in UK schools.

Obviously, the more tooth you have taken off in the first place, the sooner you're going to get to the stage where the teeth are ruined.

Hopefully, that should give you a few more questions to ask your chosen dentist rather than just "How much?"

And online reviews are useless. How do you know who has written them? It could be the dentist him/herself, it could be a troll who has never been to the clinic.

The best way is always to speak first hand to someone who has used the dentist (NOT the clinic,but the actual dentist) you intend to see.

brook2jack

Do you not trust your own dentist? It's just looking at these clinics , by the time you've paid for x rays, examination, flights accommodation etc it will have cost you more than in the UK. Both clinics quoted starting costs for just the veneers of £300 each.

If it is a question of trust would you not be better off investigating a new dentist in the UK because as Toothsmith pointed out you willneed a lifetime of replacing veneers as well as treating what caused the problem in the first place?