porcelain veneers Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

My Two Front Teeth Are Whiter than the Rest

Posted on October 20, 2025 by writeradmin.

My two front teeth have always been whiter than the rest of my teeth. They have white spots that go about 3/4 of the way up. They do look good in pictures, but the rest of the time my smile looks off because of the differences in the colors. I asked my dentist about what it would take to get the rest of my teeth as white as those big white spots and he suggested teeth whitening. My question is how to match it exactly to the white spots?

Amelia

Dear Amelia,

I am glad you wrote. I am sure your dentist is well intentioned, but I do not think he understands teeth whitening very well. The big problem is that while teeth whitening does whiten teeth, it does it uniformly. That means that your white spots will whiten along with the rest of your teeth so there will still be a color discrepancy.

What you need to do instead is to have porcelain veneers done. These are tiny wafers of porcelain that will cover the entire surface of you tooth structure. Now, if they only thing wrong with your teeth is that you just want them the same color, you can get away with just doing the two front teeth. If there are other things you want to change about your teeth, then you’ll want to get more porcelain veneers. Enough to cover the aesthetic zone of your teeth, which just means all the teeth that are visible when you smile.

The thing to know about porcelain veneers is that they can change anything you want about your smile, including the shape, size, and color of your teeth. These are complete smile makeovers and the go-to for those celebrities who get those gorgeous smiles.

Either way, I would not use your current dentist. Teeth whitening is the easiest cosmetic dentistry procedure there is. He didn’t understand how that worked. Porcelain veneers are one of the more advanced procedures. There are countless cosmetic dentistry horror stories.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

How Many Porcelain Veneers are Needed?

Posted on October 1, 2025 by writeradmin.

I want to get porcelain veneers in order to have a whiter smile. I’ve been to three dentists and they’ve all told me I needed a different number of veneers. How many are needed for the smile to look right?

Mara

Dear Mara,

I am very glad you wrote. First, I want to make sure of something. Porcelain veneers are typically used when you want a complete smile makeover. That would mean changing the shape, size, and color of your teeth or any combination of that.

If the only thing you want to do to your smile is get a whiter one, than it would be much less expensive for you to skip the veneers and simply have your teeth whitened. Plus, any dentist can do teeth whitening well. A smile makeover takes some post-doctoral training as well as artistry on the part of the dentist. Though, you have to be careful there. Any dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist even if they don’t have that training because it is not a recognized specialty. You would want to choose your dentist carefully.

So, if you weren’t just wanting to whiten your teeth and did have a complete smile makeover in mind, then the number of porcelain veneers you get would depend on your smile. There is an aesthetic zone, which is simply the teeth that are visible when you smile. For most people that is between eight and ten teeth, though there are exceptions.

There is a way around this if that means more veneers than you can afford. You will want to whiten your teeth before the veneers are done no matter how many veneers you get. This is because you want your bottom teeth to blend in with your new updated smile. That can also help some of the top teeth to blend in as well. Just be aware that the results are not equal to having all the visible teeth veneered.

What you choose, will depend on your goals for your smile.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Trying to Find Best Cosmetic Dentist for My Tetracycline Stains

Posted on September 27, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have tetracycline stains. I want to improve my smile. I’ve been looking to find a great cosmetic dentist using Yelp! I have narrowed it down to two. Both are nearby and have 5 star ratings from almost every patient. Is there a way I can check something else that will help me pick one of the other?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

I want you to be very careful here. While I use Yelp! myself for things like finding a good plumber or other type of repairman, it is not a good idea to do that for a dentist. The reason for that is because of the way their algorithm works. The people rating the dentists are doing it based on their experiences. However, Yelp! does not differentiate between the type of services they received. So, someone could have given a dentist a five star rating for a friendly staff, while another because they liked their dental crown. There is no way to get a true rating on their cosmetic dentistry skill.

Cosmetic dentistry is unfortunately, not a recognized specialty. That means any general dentist can do the work regardless of the amount of cosmetic training they have. Some procedures, such as teeth whitening, are easy and straight forward. Others, such as porcelain veneers, are extremely advanced. A dentist would need extensive post-doctoral training in order to do this properly. This is especially true of tetracycline stains. These are the toughest of cosmetic cases.

You have a couple of options. The best treatment of this is porcelain veneers. However, this is such an advanced procedure that you would need one of the top cosmetic dentists in the country. I would start by looking at what type of post-doctoral training they have. Dental school is not enough. Next, ask to see before and after pictures of tetracycline cases they have done with porcelain veneers. Make sure of the type of results they can get before you let them touch your teeth. I will be honest that these are quite expensive.

A second option is to get your teeth whitened. I will be up front with you that these will not give you the same stunning results, but it will improve them significantly. It will take a LOT of whitening to get real results, but if you’re patient you can make a big difference. A couple of upsides to this are it will cost significantly less than the veneers. Also, you will not need an expert cosmetic dentist. Any cosmetic dentist can do it. If you can find a dentist that offers Kor Whitening, that would be even better. It’s got a slight edge when it comes to cosmetic work.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Will Zoom Improve My Porcelain Veneers Color?

Posted on August 8, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have porcelain veneers. I thought I’d asked for a whiter color than I received. I spoke to my dentist about it and he said it is too late because they are already bonded on. Surely there is something I can do. Will Zoom Whitening work? I hear it is stronger than regular teeth whitening?

Emily

Dear Emily,

I’m sorry about your porcelain veneers being disappointing. It sounds like your dentist is more of a bread and butter dentist than someone with good cosmetic dentistry training.

A true cosmetic dentist would try on the porcelain veneers with a temporary try-in paste and allow you to look at them in a variety of lights to make sure you are happy with the results. If you weren’t, then they would re-do them before bonding them on permanently. It sounds like your dentist just bonded them on without giving you a chance to approve them.

Unfortunately, Zoom whitening will not help the color of the porcelain veneers.They will only work on natural tooth structure. Once veneers are bonded on they can’t be changed. However, that does not mean that they can’t be redone. I’m curious if you have documentation about the color you requested as opposed to what you received. That would help. Either way, I would start by asking him to redo them because they are not the color you wanted. Hopefully, he will do the right thing.

If you do have documentation of what you requested versus what you received, then you could take it to another cosmetic dentist and they may be willing to contact them on your behalf. Sometimes dentists are more willing to listen to their peers. Smile makeovers are not adequately taught in dental school, so you’ll want someone with post-doctoral training.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

White Spots on My Teeth

Posted on June 13, 2025 by writeradmin.

My teeth have always had white spots on them, ever since I was a little girl. The older I got, the more embarrassing it became. My parents couldn’t afford to do anything about it. Now that I am an adult, I want to do something, but my dentist said my teeth are healthy, so why would I want to mess with something that isn’t broken. But, they bother me. I’ve been looking into options myself. The Lumineers advertisements look good, but they’re expensive. I asked my dentist about them and she said she’d be willing to take their seminar if it meant that much to me. The other option I’ve been looking at is teeth whitening. That is much less expensive. When I mentioned that, my dentist said that there are over-the-counter options for that. Are those as good as the stuff people get with their dentist?

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

I’m glad you wrote. Your dentist’s comment is typical of someone who does not do cosmetic dentistry—”If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” But, if you don’t like the way it looks and it makes you uncomfortable to smile, then it is broken. However, Neither of the options you mentioned is a good idea.

Let’s start with Lumineers. This is simply a brand of porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, it happens to be a brand that is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. The problem with that is twofold. First, porcelain veneers are one of the most advanced cosmetic procedures there is. It takes not only post-doctoral training, but years of practice and an artistic eye to do it well. A seminar with Lumineers doesn’t cut it. Second, the Lumineers brand requires dentists to use their lab, which is not known for its artistic results. In fact, most skilled cosmetic dentists will not place Lumineers for that reason.

To answer your question about teeth whitening, the over-the-counter options will be much weaker than what you can get with a dentist. While professional strength teeth whitening is a wonderful procedure and one easy enough for any dentist to do, it won’t work in your case. This is because it whitens teeth evenly. Your white spots will whiten right along with the rest of your tooth surface so they will still be visible.

You have a couple of options for your situation. If your white spots are small, then dental bonding could work just fine. If they are larger, I would go with porcelain veneers. Both of these options will require an expert cosmetic dentist. Do not let your current dentist do them.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

My Teeth Next to My Veneers Look Weird

Posted on May 17, 2025 by writeradmin.

i had four porcelain veneers placed. They look fine and are nice and white. The problem I have is that the teeth next to them are not and that makes my nice pretty veneers look fake. Do you have a recommendation for how to handle this?

Denae

Dear Denae,

I am very glad you wrote. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide, so I can understand why your teeth look mismatched. Not many people can afford ten porcelain veneers. The standard operating procedure is for a dentist to recommend that a patient get teeth whitening done before they have their porcelain veneers designed. This helps your teeth that do not have porcelain veneers to blend in naturally with the veneered teeth.

Plus, it is rare to place veneers on your bottom teeth. Whitening them will help your bottom arch to not stand out. You want both arches of teeth to look like they belong together. When we talk, the bottom teeth are what people see. When we smile, it is our top teeth that people see.

The good news is that it is not too late for you to whiten those teeth and help them look more natural. While the teeth whitening gel will not harm your porcelain veneers, it is possible for your dentist to create a custom fit teeth whitening trays which will go around the veneers and only allow the gel on your natural teeth.

I’m glad you like your smile makeover. It sounds like your dentist is not a very experienced cosmetic dentist. Sometimes when that happens, the patient ends up with a disaster of a smile that looks worse than the one they came in with. I’m glad that did not happen to you.

Get that tooth bleaching done and you will be much happier with your smile makeover.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Solution for a HUGE tooth gap

Posted on April 8, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have an 8mm tooth gap and want to improve my smile. I told my dentist that I didn’t want to get braces, so he is suggesting that I get Lumineers. That’s pretty expensive, but if you think it is a good solution I’ll fork the money over.

Brittany

Dear Brittany,

I’m very glad you wrote. Whatever you do, do NOT get the Lumineers. First, the size of your tooth gap is large enough to fit an entire other tooth in there. It would take one of the top 1% of cosmetic dentists in the country to get it to look right. I don’t think your dentist is an expert cosmetic dentist. This has more to do with the fact that he is recommending Lumineers.

This is a brand of porcelain veneers that is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. They say this because they can be placed without tooth preparation. Though, most smiles will look bulky without some minimal tooth preparation. Those who are skilled cosmetic dentists often do not like the Lumineers brand. This is because they require dentists to use their lab, which is not known for its beautiful results and would prefer to use their own ceramist.

I don’t think you’re going to need Lumineers or any brand of porcelain veneers for your situation. There are now ways to straighten your teeth without traditional braces. I recommend you get Invisalign. These use clear aligners, as pictured above. No one will even know that you are straightening your teeth, even at a conversational distance. This will allow you to straighten your teeth in half the time of traditional braces.

There is an additional bonus to using Invisalign. The clear aligners can double as teeth whitening trays if you are interested in that procedure, allowing you to straighten and whiten your teeth simultaneously at a fraction of the cost. Your dentist can provide you with the whitening gel that you can wear in the aligners at your convenience.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Porcelain Veneer Came Off

Posted on April 7, 2025 by writeradmin.

I had porcelain veneers placed several years ago to cover my tetracycline stains. This week, I had one on a front tooth that split into two pieces and fell off. My new dentist glued it back on temporarily and is planning on replacing it with a crown. I moved to a new state since getting the veneers. However, this dentist says he can’t even get to the temporary tooth for a couple of weeks. The repair is not well done, is uncomfortable and looks fake. First, do I have to have a crown because the veneer broke? Second, would this not be considered a dental emergency?

Allie

Dear Allie,

First, do not let this dentist put a dental crown on your tooth if it is still healthy. That would grind it down and is completely unnecessary. Plus, a crown on a front tooth will weaken the tooth. This may be a sign that your new dentist is not a skilled cosmetic dentist. When a dentist suggests crowns in place of porcelain veneers, it generally means they don’t know how to do veneers well enough to feel comfortable with them.

Don’t force his hand to do a veneer. You won’t like the results. This is especially true because yours are covering tetracycline stains. This is one of the more advanced cosmetic procedures and requires a great deal of post-doctoral cosmetic training, along with some natural artistry on the part of the dentist. I recommend either returning to the original dentist to get this replaced or seeing someone else closer to you. Because he or she is out of state and you’re wanting to hurry, you can look for a skilled cosmetic dentist in your area. Make sure they have advanced cosmetic training and also ask to see example cases they’ve done with tetracycline stains. They should have a smile gallery that showcases their work.

While technically not a dental emergency, most cosmetic dentists understand an aesthetic emergency and will make room in their schedule for you. It should not take several weeks.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

What Is the Best Way to Get Really White Teeth?

Posted on March 6, 2025 by writeradmin.

I’ve been using Crest Whitestrips for several months. While I can tell there has been just a bit of whitening, it’s not getting white very quickly. Is there a more effective way of getting really white teeth?

Stacey

Dear Stacey,

I’m glad you wrote. There are a few ways to get your teeth really white. Which one you use will depend on your goals. If you’re just wanting to get white teeth, then take home professional strength teeth whitening is very effective and less expensive than other options. The reason that the Whitestrips take so long is because their strength is well below what you would get through your dentist. If you are looking to whiten quickly, you can have Zoom Whitening done. It will give you a dramatic amount of whitening in one appointment. They won’t be the whitest they can get, but they will be significantly whiter. Then, if you want to go further, you can use take home trays and gel that your dentist can provide for you.

If, however, you are looking to do more than whiten your teeth, but get a complete smile makeover, then I would recommend you look into porcelain veneers. This is what celebrities turn to in order to get that Hollywood smile. They can change not just the color of your teeth, but the shape, size, and character as well. The one downside is that they are much more expensive than teeth whitening.

While teeth whitening is a very basic cosmetic procedure and just about any dentist can do it, you will need to find an expert cosmetic dentist to do porcelain veneers. Bear in mind that cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. That means any dentist is permitted to do the procedures AND it is up to them how much post-doctoral training they get. You will want to check out their smile gallery to make sure they get beautiful results.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Snap-On Smile Adjustments

Posted on February 11, 2025 by writeradmin.

I am thinking of getting Snap-on Smile but read that they don’t look very natural. However, I am wondering if they look fake because they are so white. What if I made them more like a natural white? I also saw a video from the Snap-on Smile company showing a special six tool kit that dentists can use to make adjustments on the appliance, which should also help.

Ellie

Dear Ellie,

I am very glad you wrote. I want you to tamper your expectations for Snap-on Smile. These are not going to look completely natural at a conversational distance no matter what you do. They look fine from a distance. The things that do cause appearance problems with these are first, that they are made of acetyl resin. This means they are going to look a bit flat and not have the shine and variance that a natural smile would have. A second issue is that they snap over your teeth. This is going to make most smiles look a little bulky. This is even more so if your teeth stick out a bit. A third problem is the lab that makes Snap-on Smile, which is not known for its artistic results.

If you are wanting a smile makeover, porcelain veneers are your best option. These are what celebrities use to get their smiles done. In the hands of a skilled cosmetic dentist, you can have a stunning smile. It’s the smile you envision. It can a perfect Hollywood smile or one with unique traits and quirks. Veneers can change the shape, size, character, and color of your teeth.

As long as your expectations aren’t too high, they can make some improvements to the appearance of a smile. Bear in mind that they will only last between 2-5 years and then you’ll have to replace them. If a beautiful smile is what you’re after, I would use that time to save up for something like porcelain veneers.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.