I would love to get veneers for my teeth, but the cost is a real concern, especially since I've read that veneers may need to be replaced after as little as 5 years. Would bonding be a good alternative? Can it make my teeth look as nice or at least somewhat similiar to what veneers could?
2006-07-09 01:00:50 · 3 answers · asked by Ribbons 3 in Health ➔ Dental
This is a very hard question to answer without knowing exactly what your teeth look like, how well you care for your teeth, etc. Knowing how comfortable your dentist is with each procedure makes a difference also.
My daughter bugged me and bugged me to do veneers on her teeth. She had some dark spots from medication as a baby (no choice in the matter...) and I agreed that she should have some treatment, but I did not want to place porcelain veneers on her at a young age. Finally, at age 16, I was willing to use bonding for her front six teeth. (Dentists - I only did 6-11, because we were not changing the shade.) My plan was to replace them with porcelain once she was in her 20's. She is now 33 years old and the bonding still looks great. (Dentists - I used Z-100 in 1989. I DID prepare a finish line.)
On the other hand, I have a dental assistant who needed "something" done, but she declined porcelain veneers and asked me to do the same thing that she saw on my daughter's teeth. (She said that she knew porcelain would not last forever and she wanted to delay her "permanent" treatment.) I did the same thing for her and found that she wore them out by excessive brushing, no matter how much I warned her, and we ended up replacing them - ALL of them - every 3 to 4 years. She just wore them down so much that you could see the edges of her natural teeth showing through. After about 10-12 years of playing with these bonded teeth, she FINALLY let me replace them with Empress porcelain crowns this year.
I have many patients (25 or 30) who have had porcelain veneers for 10-15 years with no problems. Frankly, I have not had problems with veneers failing, but I am very selective about who gets to have veneers as opposed to having a full porcelain crown.
So, it is very difficult to answer your question without seeing the conditions in your mouth. Bonding can be an excellent choice and it might last for a long, long time, as it has lasted 17 years for my daughter. Then again, bonding might not hold up more than 3 or 4 years, as it has for my assistant. When veneers are done properly and placed well, they might last for 20 years or more. When they are placed poorly or used where they really are not appropriate, they might not even last a year.
Discuss the pros and cons with your dentist.
2006-07-09 01:45:36 · answer #1 · answered by Picture Taker 7 · 7⤊ 0⤋
What is the difference in the cost of the two?
2006-07-09 09:55:50 · answer #2 · answered by justhinking 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
have you noticed Hilary Duff's veneers she looks like a horse now.
2006-07-09 08:03:52 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋