I go in to have porcelain veneers done in a couple of weeks. The dentist I chose was listed number one on Yelp for smile makeovers. I want to go to the appointment prepared. I’m 57 years old. Blonde, with medium skin. If I had 6 teeth done, would getting a B2 color look beautiful and natural for my age and skin?
Angeline
Dear Angeline,
Let’s start with the dentist. Did you choose him simply because he was number one on Yelp or did you do some other research like whether he has post-doctoral training in cosmetic dentistry and what his smile gallery looks like? I love Yelp and use it regularly. However, in choosing top cosmetic dentists they seem to fall a bit short. I think that mostly has to do with their algorithm, which is based primarily on their reviews. However, from what I can tell, their reviews do not seem to distinguish between general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, or just plain friendliness of the staff.
As an example, I picked a random city and did a search for the best cosmetic dentists. I looked on the website of the dentist listed as number one and he does not even do cosmetic procedures. The second dentist did, but I saw no listing that showed he had any significant training in the smile makeover procedure. He did have a smile gallery, but I was not that impressed with the results. One of the pictures I knew to be a stock photo, so that wasn’t even his work.
When it comes to getting a smile makeover, the best dentists are AACD accredited dentists. They’ve had extensive training, passed stringent exams, and had a large body of their work examined by an accreditation board for both technical skill and artistic excellence. Those who actually become accredited are the top 2% of cosmetic dentists in the country. If I were getting a smile makeover, I would want an AACD accredited dentist to do it. And if they offered a remote smile consultation, I’d take advantage of that.
Color and Porcelain Veneers
Getting the color right has more to do with the overall look you are going for as well as the skill of the dentist. You can have a very white smile look perfectly natural and a B2 smile look opaque and fake. This is another reason the dentist you choose is so important. You will meet with him or her, go over your smile goals, and then the smile design will be based on that.
One thing I can tell you is that most smiles are wider than six porcelain veneers. In order to have your smile match, you will want to have your teeth whitened first. This way, the adjacent teeth that you do not place veneers on will blend in better.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.
