MIAMI --
Cosmetic surgery is becoming more and more popular and so is
cosmetic dentistry.
People looking for a mouth makeover are looking to a
procedure that can be a quick way to get a whiter and straighter
smile.
NBC 6 Health Connection reporter Diana Gonzalez said the
procedure has increased 250 percent in the last five years.
So how do you get an instant mouth makeover? Teeth veneers.
"A veneer is like a fake fingernail for your tooth," Dr.
Michael Robinson said.
Veneers have been around for a while, but reality television
shows have put them back in the spotlight.
"We found a tremendous spike from our veneer cases since
'Extreme Makeover' and shows like that," Robinson said.
Robinson says veneers are a quick fix to a host of problems.
"A veneer can fix a fractured edge of a tooth if the fracture
is not too bad," Robinson said. "It can change the color. It can
change the shape. It can close gaps. It can change length
discrepancies. Sometimes we can call it instant orthodontics."
A veneer is a custom fit thin layer of porcelain. But in
order to put it on, some of your actual tooth must be removed.
"So as not to make these teeth look much thicker we're
actually removing that amount of material to put that material back
in porcelain," Robinson said.
It takes at least a week for veneers to be made and then they
are glued in place. The cost is about $1,000 per tooth.
For Luis, the result was priceless.
"Now I feel more comfortable. Just like I'm a star," he said.
But that wasn't the case for Roy Moore. Three weeks after he
had veneers put on, part of the veneer chipped off.
"I'm eating on the plane and all of a sudden I feel something
in my mouth -- it has chipped off," Moore said.
It happened not once, but twice. Moore sought help from Dr.
Mitchell Pohl, who saw an immediate problem.
"Every time he bit down, the forces from his bite were
forcing the veneer off, dislodging it," Pohl said.
Moore had to get his veneers redone. So did Filiz Gassman.
"The gum tissue on one of her front teeth is much lower than
on the other one," Pohl said. "We had to redo at least 12 of her
teeth minimal."
"I basically had to do everything new so I went through a lot
of time, a lot of pain to have everything redone," Gassman said.
To avoid this kind of problem, make sure your dentist has
extensive experience in doing veneers. Don't rely only on
before-and-after pictures. You want to see and talk to at least one
patient who has had the procedure done.
While patients can get amazing results with veneers, not
everyone is a candidate
"Grinders are not candidates, especially people with extreme
grinding habit," Pohl said. "People with extremely dark teeth would
probably not be candidates."
Even when done correctly, veneers don't last forever. They
usually need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years.
Copyright 2005 by NBC6.net
