I love Miley Cyrus’ smile. I want to get one like it. It looks like she had work done to get it. I can’t tell if she got Lumineers or porcelain veneers. Can you tell as a dentist?
Meagan
Dear Meagan,
Miley Cyrus has admitted to having work done on her teeth but never said what kind. Even if she hadn’t admitted it, it would certainly be easy to tell just from these two pictures. The change is too drastic.
Your question wanted to know if she had Lumineers or porcelain veneers done. You should be aware that Lumineers are just a brand of porcelain veneers. They’re a heavily marketed branch, which is why so many patients ask for them by name. The key to getting a good smile makeover isn’t the brand of porcelain veneers, but the dentist who places them.
Picking a Dentist for Your Smile Makeovers
You want to make sure the dentist who designs your smile has the skills necessary to give you a smile you’ll be proud of. There are a few steps I’d take to ensure that.
- Check out their smile gallery
Any cosmetic dentist worth their salt will have a smile gallery. It’s a sort of dental brag book where they show before and after pictures of work they’ve done on people’s smiles. They’ll put their best work on there. If you aren’t blown away (in a good way) by what you’ve seen on the gallery, there is no point in moving forward with that dentist. Your smile won’t end up any better.
- Check out their reviews
You’ll have to work closely with that dentist and he needs to be a good listener. You want him to understand the type of smile you have in mind. Online reviews, such as Google or Yelp! tell you what type of experience other patients who’ve been to see them have had. If they’re difficult to work with it won’t be a pleasant experience.
- Make sure they have a beautiful smile guarantee
Finally, you want to be assured you can get the smile YOU want. Too many inexperienced cosmetic dentists do a mediocre job and work to convince the patient it’s beautiful. When they have a beautiful smile guarantee, it usually means you approve the veneers before they’re permanently bonded on.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Steven Collins.