White Spots on Front Teeth

I have quite a few white spots on my two front teeth. There are enough of them close together that they make my two front teeth look very white, but it does tend to make my other teeth look dingy. I spoke to my dentist about it and he suggested Lumineers. He said he’s certified in them, so that’s a good sign. They’re just so expensive. If there were other things about my teeth I wanted to fix, I might be more willing to spend the money. Before I jump into that though, I wondered if there was a way to just whiten the other teeth and not my two front teeth. I do know I just can’t whiten all of them as a solution because they’ll still be different colors. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Kasie

Dear Kasie,

I’m glad you are hesitant about the Lumineers for a couple of reasons. First, as you mentioned, if your teeth are fine then having them placed would be a bit of an overtreatment. However, there’s a separate issue with Lumineers that I will tell you about in case you consider them in the future. They are often marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. However, like any brand of porcelain veneers, they take real expertise and post-doctoral training to do well. Smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school. As for him being certified, that isn’t the same as real training in porcelain veneers. All a dentist has to do to get Lumineers certified is attend a seminar. That is not the type of technical and artistic training you’d want in someone designing your smile.

Finding a Skilled Cosmetic Dentist

While you can have teeth whitening done on all but those two front teeth, I think it will take a dentist with more expertise than your dentist may have. If that is the route you decide to go, then, I would look on the mynewsmile.com website. You can find expert cosmetic dentists in your area by inputting your zip code. Each dentist who wants to be listed is screened for their technical training as well as the artistry of their work. They cannot just pay to be listed. This means you can feel confident in the cosmetic abilities of any of the dentists listed on their site.

Another option to consider, which might give you superior results is to have all the teeth whitened to the level you want and then have spot bonding done on the two front teeth. Dental bonding is done freehand, so again, you would need an expert cosmetic dentist.

This blog is brought to you by West Seneca Dentist Dr. Warren Krutchick.