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Will We Actually Get Our Lumineers?

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My husband and I went to a local cosmetic dentist who was advertising smile makeovers using Lumineers. We were both excited about having a young and cleaner looking smile after years of teeth that show our age exactly. When we left, she told us that the Lumineers would arrive in two weeks. Well, two weeks came and we received a phone call saying that the lab called and we will need to re-do the impressions made.  We’ve already paid for everything up front and now I am a little worried we won’t actually ever see the Lumineers. Is this a common thing?

Keilly

Dear Kelly,

Lumineers Advertisement

While I do believe that you will receive the Lumineers you and your husband ordered, I am a little concerned that you are not going to like the results.  It does occasionally happen that an impression doesn’t go as it should have. That is not a big deal. You re-do the impressions and then your case gets completed. My concern is that your dentist doesn’t really know what she is doing. What makes me think that is the length of time we are dealing with here.

Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, here is my speculation, and bear in mind is speculation. Your dentist took the impressions, then sent them off to the lab. The lab then calls your dentist and says, “These impressions need to be re-done.” You guys are new patients so she is a little embarrassed about this and afraid you will lose confidence in her. So, instead of re-doing the impressions, she tells the lab to try and use them anyway. The fact that she had to call you back a couple of weeks later tells me the impressions were so bad that they were unusable to the lab. Now she had no choice but to call you.

Here is the thing. Lumineers are just one brand of porcelain veneers. They just happen to be a brand that is highly  marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.

Doing smile makeovers is not taught in dental school. That means for a dentist to develop the technical skill and artistry necessary to produce beautiful results, they have to invest a lot of time and money into post-doctoral training. It doesn’t sound to me as if she has the training necessary.

Here is my recommendation to you. Before you allow her to bond the Lumineers on, insist that she place them first with a temporary try-in paste. If she doesn’t have that on hand, which she may not if she doesn’t do many of these cases, then any water-soluble gel should work. Then, look at them carefully in a variety of lightings to ensure that you are pleased with the result and would be proud to show them off for a lifetime. If you are, great! Allow her to permanently bond them on. If you are not absolutely thrilled, ask for her to either send them back to the lab changing the things you are unhappy with or to refund your money. Do NOT allow her to bond them on until you are satisfied.

Doing this will protect you from becoming a statistic in the growing number of cosmetic dentistry horror stories. If you do end up having to get a refund, once you have secured your money, go to an AACD accredited dentist to have your smile makeover done. These are the top cosmetic dentists in the world.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Swindled with Lumineers

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I am in a mess and my poor daughter is the one paying for it. Our family has horribly positioned teeth. I grew up being unmercifully teased and did not want her to face the same experiences. We had her teeth worked on with braces, but there were still gaps. I looked up a cosmetic dentist and he said that it would be better if we did Lumineers. I wanted her to feel confident about her smile for the first time in her life so I agreed. We told him we’d like them more tapered than we saw in his picture and he said to leave that to him, he would make sure we loved them. He also told us we’d get to see them on her in different lighting before they were bonded on permanently. None of that happened. They held her mouth back with some big band and it was hard to see anything. I suspected they were too big based on what I could see and he said that was because they needed to be bonded on first to look the way they really would. I thought he’d know his field so agreed, but once they were bonded on they were just as big and bulky. They also looked square and not at all tapered the way we asked. He told us to give it a week and he was sure we’d love them. We tried, but when she went to school the students were so cruel. They told her she looked like she had horse teeth. Then, some of the boys started neighing every time she had to walk their direction.  To make matters worse, she’s having trouble pronouncing some letters now that have never been a problem in the past. My guess is it has to do with the size of them. I called the dentist and he said he’d thinks they’re gorgeous. What do I do?

Madeline

Dear Madeline,

Lumineers advertisement

First, I am going to say I am sorry for what is happening to your daughter. Kids, even older ones, can be so cruel. I was cringing as I read the account you have been through. As soon as I read the problem and then saw Lumineers mentioned as the solution, I knew we’d be having another cosmetic dentistry horror story. One thing you said was very telling. I looked up a cosmetic dentist. Most patients have no idea that cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. Any general dentist can do cosmetic dentistry. To make matters worse, it is up to them how much training they invest in to learn how to do things such as smile makeovers.

Generally, when there are small gaps between teeth, the solution is dental bonding. It is less expensive, however, it requires more expertise to pull it off and my guess is your “cosmetic” dentist does not know how to do it, nor does he have the materials necessary. Then factor in Lumineers. These are advertised to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. They’re not. Nor does bonding have anything to do with the ability to make them look beautiful.

Under normal circumstances, you would not be able to get a refund if the only issue is you do not like their appearance. However, your dentist broke some rules which will work in your favor. First, he told you that you would get to see them in several lights before making a decision and did not follow through. Then, when you expressed concern with how they looked, he pressured you into bonding them on telling you they would look different. Either he knew that was not true and lied or he’s incompetent and didn’t know that is not true. Neither one looks good for him.  A second thing that works in your favor is the fact that it has affected her speech. Together these things can help you get a refund.

Here is what I recommend. First, don’t let him do any work on them if he suddenly develops a conscience and wants to make this right by trying again. Second, go see a true cosmetic dentist. One that has invested in the training necessary to do this right. I would look for an AACD accredited dentist. These are the best cosmetic dentists in the country. Have them look at your case. If they can document that the Lumineers caused the speech issues, it will be a real ace in your pocket. Then, go to your dentist and ask for a full refund armed with what the other dentist told you.

Once you have that refund, I would go back to the qualified dentist and have him re-do your daughter’s smile makeover. Don’t be surprised if he recommends a different brand of porcelain veneers for her. In fact, I would take that as a good sign.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.

Placing New Lumineers over Old Ones

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I had Lumineers done about eight years ago. They’ve always been a bit dingy so I want to re-do them. I did want a whiter smile at the time of their original placement but my dentist said the technology didn’t accommodate that at the time. I think it does now because I see other people with Lumineers that have very white smiles. I don’t think they can be whitened with teeth whitening, so I am wondering if I can put new Lumineers with the more advanced colors over my old ones. Is that a possibility?

Margie

Dear Margie,

A porcelain veneers being placed on a tooth

First, I want to address the technology. When you originally had your Lumineers placed, your dentist would have been able to make them as white as you wanted. My guess is he isn’t an experienced cosmetic dentist so he didn’t quite understand the color theory necessary to create the smile you wanted.

This doesn’t surprise me. Lumineers are just one brand of porcelain veneers. However, this brand has been highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place.

As to whether you can place new Lumineers over old, yes, you can. However, I am going to recommend against it. In reality, it takes just as much effort on the part of the dentist to just re-do the case completely than it would for him or her to place new ones over old ones. Because of that, it makes more sense to just do them over for a couple of reasons.

The Risk isn’t Worth It

The first issue is the bonding process. It is much easier to bond to natural tooth structure than it is to bond porcelain to porcelain. This means you have a greater risk of the bond failing on the porcelain than you would if you removed the original veneers and bonded the new ones directly to your teeth.

Then, you want to think about the bond on the original Lumineers. What if that bond fails for some reason. All you have accomplished is to double your chances of failure.

Get this Done Right

Your original dentist was out of his depth, so if you are going to invest in a second smile makeover, you’ll want to do it with a dentist who knows exactly what he’s doing. I would look for an expert cosmetic dentist. Those who are at the top of this field are AACD accredited. They can give you a stunning smile.

This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.