Tetracycline Stains and No Money for Porcelain Veneers
I’ve had tetracycline stains for most of my life. Ten years ago, I asked my dentist if I could whiten my teeth to get rid of the stains. He told me that the only solution for tetracycline stains is porcelain veneers. I priced those and there is not a chance in the world I will be able to afford that. My smile is so humiliating to me that I never do it. Is there a chance that teeth whitening has improved enough in the last ten years to make a difference?
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
While porcelain veneers are still the best solution for tetracycline stains, you can make a decent difference by using teeth whitening. Make sure you use take home teeth whitening trays instead of something like Zoom Whitening. Zoom would take too many sessions and you are trying to save money.
While you can make a difference with the bleaching, you will have to be persistent. You will get the best results if you can wear the trays overnight. If you can’t tolerate the bleaching for that long, then just wear them during the day for as long as you can. I would plan on bleaching for several months but it will make a difference.
As I mentioned at the beginning, porcelain veneers will give you a much better result. My recommendation is that you start with the whitening while you save up for the veneers. However, you would need to have them done by a skilled cosmetic dentist. Dental school will not be enough. You will want someone with post doctoral training in cosmetic dentistry. This is especially true when it comes to tetracycline stains. They are one of the most challenging cases there are.
You’ll want to ask if they’ve done these type of cases before. If they haven’t, look for someone else. If they say they have done them, then ask to see before and after images of the cases so that you can get an idea whether or not the results are beautiful and something that you would be proud to have yourself.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Clear Choice or Costa Rica for Dental Implants
I’ve been researching options or dental implants. I looked at Clear Choice Implants but they prefer to do all-on-4 dental implants. I’ve heard that these have some downsides. Looking over their reviews, I also see a lot of people complain that there was no follow up with them as well. I’d really like to get traditional implant supported dentures, but they told me I’d need bone grafting for that so the all-on-4 is my best option. Another option that I looked into is going to Costa Rica to have the work done. Apparently, there I can have the bone grafting and traditional implant overdentures done and it would still end up cheaper than Clear Choice. Would that be my better option?
Viola
Dear Viola,
I’m glad you wrote. I would not go for either of these options for your dental implants, and here’s why. Let’s start with Clear Choice. You mentioned the problem with no follow up. That is true. You also mentioned that there were downsides with them. That is also true. A significant issue is that if something goes wrong with one implant, then the entire system will have to be replaced.
But going to Costa Rica will be much worse. Even in the United States, with all of our quality controls, when things go wrong with the implant procedure, there can be serious consequences. But take away those quality controls and you are looking at a potential disaster. The standard of care and even the quality and sterilization of equipment is different outside of the U.S. Plus, you will have no real follow up or any recourse if things do go wrong. The last thing you want is to be yet one more person in a long line of dental implant horror stories.
There is a third option. Go with a private dentist with post doctoral training in dental implants. Have the bone grafting done and then have the implant supported dentures you were hoping for. You will know the dentist is trained. Private dentists are much more invested in the success of their cases than corporate clinics like Clear Choice, so you should have excellent follow up.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.