The Stow Dental Group Blog | Dr. Mark Iati

Over the past several years the general public has been bombarded with ads and infomercials regrading dental products. Never before has the public had such a wide aray of materials to choose from in search of the perfect smile. Some of these ads however can be VERY misleading. Lets take one example. Lumineers. These are a type of porcelian veneer that has been around for a very long time. This is not a new invention just a remarketing of the same product. The idea behind Lumineers is that they are very thin and therefore can be placed over the top or fronts of your existing teeth without drilling or reducing any tooth structure. They state that there is no grinding, no shot and therefore no pain involved. Now initally that may make sense, however in 95% of the cases that is not true. The creation of truely well done cosmetic dentistry requires dealing with many inherent dental problems such as rotations of teeth, malalignments and inadequate length and poor color. If your teeth were nice and straight in the first place why would you need veneers? Good question. We don't think it should be your first choice. If your teeth are truely in need of veneers then you may have issues that will require some removal of tooth structure and addition of tooth structure in other areas. The addition of porcelain over non prepared tooth structure can lead to bulky, lifeless and poorly contoured teeth, this is not healthy for the surrounding gum tissue.Do not be fooled by something that sounds to good to be true. Look at the picture of a Lumineer case at the end of this blog ( not done by us) and then look at some of our before and after pictures and they will speak for themselves. Please research, ask questions and seek second opinions if you do not feel comfortable. Check the qualifications of your dentist, make sure they are members of the AACD or like organization which focuses on continuing eduction in esthetics. Remember it is your body, treat it right.