I really want a pretty smile, but there isn’t a way in the world I can afford to get porcelain veneers. Are there ways to affordably makeover your smile? To be specific, I have two chipped teeth, a gap in my front teeth, a couple of crooked teeth, and they all look old and yellowed.
Bernadette
Dear Bernadette,
You can absolutely improve the appearance of your smile without getting porcelain veneers. Think of veneers as a Lamborghini. It’s stunning and the top of the line, but there are other gorgeous cars that won’t cost nearly as much. Though, they won’t be able to maneuver the way a Lamborghini can.
While veneers can change the shape, smile, and color of your smile simultaneously, most of those things can be done with other procedures as well.
Cosmetic Dental Options to Veneers
The first thing I’d recommend is to whiten your teeth. You can do it gradually with at-home teeth whitening or in just one appointment with Zoom Whitening. This is the fastest and most affordable way to improve your smile. It takes years off your appearance.
With crooked teeth, I often recommend Invisalign. This allows you to straighten teeth without a mouth full of metal.
Finally, for the chipped teeth I recommend dental bonding. This is a composite resin which is hand scultpted onto your teeth by a skilled cosmetic dentist to make up for the lost structure. It will blend in perfectly with your natural tooth structure.
Just be sure you do the whitening first, this way the new bonding can be made the right color. The bonding won’t change color once it is completed.
All of these procedures cost significantly less than porcelain veneers.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.