veneer and bleaching questions?

[okiamhot]

hey, i am just wondering what the differences b/w the bleaching that you can buy from the market, and the one that provided by dentists?

and why does veneer cost so much?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by okiamhot
hey, i am just wondering what the differences b/w the bleaching that you can buy from the market, and the one that provided by dentists?

and why does veneer cost so much?

The difference in bleaching products is primarily the concentration of the bleaching solution. Just like any product, an OTC product will be less potent than you get from a doctor.

I'm not touching the second question. I don't trust myself to respond politely.

 

[PERFECT3435]

Bill, isn't the answer pretty simple to that one?



why is anything expensive in healthcare?


just look at how much it costs to become a dentis, then how much it cost to pay rent, buy instruments etc ect.


thats why.

 

[gryffindor]

If you can invent a do-it-at-home veneer kit, then veneers will drastically drop in price.

Till then, they may seem expensive to you because you are paying someone with the skill and talent (the DENTIST) to properly do the veneer procedure on you. Think about it, they are taking off a thin layer of your tooth using an instrument (the "drill") that rotates at THOUSANDS of rotations per minute - that takes years of practice (dental school) to do properly without damaging your tooth, lips, tongue, face, and all other parts in the vicinity. Also incorporated into the cost of a veneer is the lab fee to have the veneer made.

 

[PERFECT3435]

griff,


i had a little piece of my tooth (#8) chipped yrs ago. yesterday, i was alone at work for 3 hrs and bored. so guess what i did?



yes, i did a composite filling on myself and honestly i did a pretty good job but still need some smoothing the tooth out. still not bad for never having really touched the drill part.


i know i shouldn't have done anything like that without permission but i was completely bored.

 

[Midoc]

Don't forget the lab fees for fabricating the actual veneer.

 

[Meggs]

Consumer Whitening
In 2003 consumers in the US spent $615 million on whitening toothpaste.
Bleaching kits and other whitening products increased
by 15 percent to $332 million according to AC Neilson.

Since we're on the topic .... this stat is from the Smart Practice newsletter.

 

[cusp of carabelli]

how did you maintain a clean dry field to acid etch yourself and place bonding agent on yourself?

Originally posted by PERFECT3435
griff,


i had a little piece of my tooth (#8) chipped yrs ago. yesterday, i was alone at work for 3 hrs and bored. so guess what i did?



yes, i did a composite filling on myself and honestly i did a pretty good job but still need some smoothing the tooth out. still not bad for never having really touched the drill part.


i know i shouldn't have done anything like that without permission but i was completely bored.

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by cusp of carabelli
how did you maintain a clean dry field to acid etch yourself and place bonding agent on yourself?

cotton maybe??

 

[PERFECT3435]

who said it was totally dry? cotton rolls along with the small sucktion helped. lol



it was the craziest thing i have ever done. sat in front of a mirror and did it.

i still don't think it was that hard. applying the bonding and etching agents was nothing. the hardest part was smoothing out the surface after i was done.

 

[tanwe461]

but i still dun understand how did u manage to get moisture control when u placed composite on yourself? no air syringe or anything to dry etc......

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by tanwe461
but i still dun understand how did u manage to get moisture control when u placed composite on yourself? no air syringe or anything to dry etc......

C'mon, people, this is obvious. He *clearly* rubber-dammed himself. Duh!

 

[tanwe461]

speaking of rubber dams....they are such a waste of time. heard that lots of people in private practice don't do it anyway..you don't get paid for it but i guess when doing some amalgam work, it's better for the patient...

 

[PashaJ]

Originally posted by PERFECT3435
who said it was totally dry? cotton rolls along with the small sucktion helped. lol



it was the craziest thing i have ever done. sat in front of a mirror and did it.

i still don't think it was that hard. applying the bonding and etching agents was nothing. the hardest part was smoothing out the surface after i was done.

How did you bevel the 45 degree angle on yourself? I'm having a tough time doing it on a mannequin let alone if I had to do it on myself.

 

[dientesfuertes]

tanwe461,
You don't get paid to be friendly and say "please" and "thank you" to your patients, either. But I think it is generally recommended.

 

[cusp of carabelli]

maybe if you've had many many hours/years of practice handling materials in dentistry, but then again with practice putting on a rubber dam doesn't take a long time either. I can put a rubber dam on a person in about 2 minutes....compared to having to deal with someone who has just aspirated that provisional that you just did or swallowed some amalgam and the lawsuits that WILL follow, those 2 minutes i don't mind wasting...

Originally posted by tanwe461
speaking of rubber dams....they are such a waste of time. heard that lots of people in private practice don't do it anyway..you don't get paid for it but i guess when doing some amalgam work, it's better for the patient...

 

[PERFECT3435]

Originally posted by PashaJ
How did you bevel the 45 degree angle on yourself? I'm having a tough time doing it on a mannequin let alone if I had to do it on myself.

i am not sure of what angle yo uare refeing to. as far as rubber dam goes, no i didn't use that. didn't even know what that was till i asked my boss today. we don't use anything like that. when it comes to amalgum fillings, we use something else (calls it matrix bent) to isolate the tooth.


so here is what i did, i used some cotton rolls and the small sucktion to keep the area as dry as i could.
then i applied the Etch Gel, then cleaned it with some cotton 2x2's. then applied the bonding and itching agent. then applied the composite and light cured. after that, i filed it a little bet to smooth the surface.

thats it. i was all done and the tooth is fine!

 

[okiamhot]

cool, you fix your own teeth, and i cut my own hair. i have been doing it for so many years now. i am really good at it.

 

[okiamhot]

i didn't know that it is so complicated. i thought that it is just something that you stick to the teeth.

also is bleaching really safe at all?

Originally posted by griffin04
If you can invent a do-it-at-home veneer kit, then veneers will drastically drop in price.

Till then, they may seem expensive to you because you are paying someone with the skill and talent (the DENTIST) to properly do the veneer procedure on you. Think about it, they are taking off a thin layer of your tooth using an instrument (the "drill") that rotates at THOUSANDS of rotations per minute - that takes years of practice (dental school) to do properly without damaging your tooth, lips, tongue, face, and all other parts in the vicinity. Also incorporated into the cost of a veneer is the lab fee to have the veneer made.

 

[bpl77]

Are you really a dental student /dentist ?? How come you dont know what is 45 degree bevelling for composite fillings ...that is the first thing you should do before you start etching and that is done on enamel to increase the surface area of etching .

Do you work in a clinic ??

sang

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by okiamhot
i didn't know that it is so complicated. i thought that it is just something that you stick to the teeth.

also is bleaching really safe at all?

Bleaching is harmless. It might make your teeth more sensitive while you're doing it, but that'll disappear after you stop treatments if it's even a problem in the first place.

 

[compugirl]

perfect you are funny! i always wondered what it was like to do work on my own teeth. =)

 

[PERFECT3435]

Originally posted by bpl77
Are you really a dental student /dentist ?? How come you dont know what is 45 degree bevelling for composite fillings ...that is the first thing you should do before you start etching and that is done on enamel to increase the surface area of etching .

Do you work in a clinic ??

sang

SANG,

i just work at a dental office and soon will start dntal school.
now, how come i don't know what 45 degree is?

actually i do. bevelling is the part when you drill the enamel a little more just before applying the etching gel. i didn't know that it was called bevelling or that it has to be done in certain degrees.

here is the thing, i never did that part. i would have been crazy to drill my own tooth. to be honest, i didn't wanna take any risks of doing something really wrong so i just applied the etch gel (without any drilling) clean it the applied the desentisizer and bonding agent. then did put the composite, light cured it, and finally filed it a little (just a little) to smooth the surface out.


cool?

 

[PERFECT3435]

Originally posted by compugirl
perfect you are funny! i always wondered what it was like to do work on my own teeth. =)

take it from me, just don't do it. because:


1. people on sdn will question you to death about it.
2. if you miss up, then you have to take the emabarrassment.lol

i am never gonna touch anything again till i get to IUSD. well, except for maybe doing prophies.

 

[PERFECT3435]

Originally posted by aphistis
Bleaching is harmless.

this is something that has been bothering me a lot. why do some dentists, professors, and ads tell you its safe while there are dentists that say otherwise.

my boss thinks bleaching isn't for everyone and that you could end up with really sesitive tooth for a long time not just after stopping the treatment.

why are there so many discrepancies about this?

 

[Westside22]

Veneers can be expensive depending on the lab that will pour the veneers before sending it back to your dentist, and each lab varies by how much they charge. In many cases, the more you pay the higher quality porcelain veneers you will get. Expensive veneers will look more natural, varied densities on each veneer, rather than uniform throughout, etc. There are many types of porcelain materials, and depending on how many layers they pour to make each veneer, that also determine the lab cost.

I have also heard that you must take into consideration that when getting veneers, it is recommended that the dentist and lab also pour a model, especially for getting say 10 veneers for the maxillary arch, i am not sure what the technical term is here, but it's one specific to the porcelain veneers process, where the lab charges an extra $100 to $150 PER TOOTH just for this model, before they actually do the veneers, and this process will help your veneers fit better and less cutting and polishing is needed by the dentists after the veneers are put on.

So each lab charges about 100-300 PER TOOTH for the veneer, then the extra $100-$150 PER TOOTH for the model, then your dentist will charge 100-300 per tooth or MORE for prep, temporary, then insertion, adjustment, and overall resonsibilities, then some small overhead costs,

then the profit costs of cosmetic procedures in general are higher because people are willing to pay, etc, that is why you are looking at least $400 and higher per tooth for a porcelain veneer. This seems so expensive, and it is, especially for dentists that do this day in and day out, they should charge less for labor, etc. But that is not my point how much dentists should make per veneer.

I just wanted to point out that the cost per tooth is expensive but isn't as inflated as one might think. Be careful with places that charge less, because it means that they go to an average lab, give you unnatural colors, or veneers will chip and crack and break, etc. There are cheaper labs out there, but it is not known how long your veneers will last, etc.

And of course if you are a movie star, you get charged extra just because you sure can pay for a nice smile that will help you make millions more...

anyone with more info or corrections to this post, feel free...

 

[Tightseal]

Westside22,
I agree with you on this.I think, veeners are also expensive because you have to deal with high patient expectations and a lot of time what is ideal for the dentist is not ideal for the patient. Many times you end up changing shades and shape till the patient is really satisfied and gets what he/she actually had in their minds............my two cents!!!!