Help deciding on cosmetic options!

[peach]

So my ortho put me in retainers. I still have two gaps that she said i can have closed through bonding. I just met with my dentist for a consul and he said i have 3 options. I want everyones opinion.
1 composite bonding - will cost me a total of 1400 for all the work. Lasts 10-12 yrs. Fairly durable but can chip over time. Can stain with tea. Its completed in one sitting
2 porcelein veneer- will cost 3200. Lasts 10-12. Durable but will have some tooth shaving
3. Crown- will cost 3200. Lasts 30 yrs and durable. Some tooth shaving. Takes 3 weeks but will have temporary in the meantime.
Has anyone had those done or any opinions on it? My husband says i should really get the crowns so it will last and look nice.

[coconutqueen]

I had a porcelain crown done on a second molar in 1999. It went through 21 months of braces and is still going strong. I understand gold crowns are even more durable, but for obvious reasons people may not want to have them on front teeth.

My husband had composite bonding done on some of his front teeth many years ago; it's held up well, but you can tell where it is due to the staining.

Personally, I would NEVER do veneers - why mess up perfectly good teeth? - but that's just me.

[peach]

I was reading online that crown veneers are more invasive than porcelain because they shave all around the tooth, leaving less to work with in the future. Im not sure how i feel about that. I think I'll check out some pictures online to see what they all look like. The dentist said that theyll stain with tea and coffee but not food? Do they stain with like one drink or is it excessive use of something? I maonly drink water but i dont want to eat or drink something and find staining like when i had ceramic braces and the ligs would go crazy yellow with certain foods or drinks.

[coconutqueen]

Not sure about veneers and staining. I'm one of those people whose (normal) teeth stain like crazy from tea, coffee, food colouring and red wine!

[Mylene]

I would ALWAYS choose the least invasive route, composite resin, to preserve the tooth. Maybe your dentist has a reason for suggesting crowns or veneers? I have composite resin on 3 of my 4 front teeth, no staining, although I 'm sure everyone is different.
Good luck!

[kennyandrew85]

what was the reason the gaps can't be closed?
I'll be pretty pee'd off if I can't get my gaps closed with braces at the end.

[kellyb]

what was the reason the gaps can't be closed?
I'll be pretty pee'd off if I can't get my gaps closed with braces at the end.

i also have a couple gaps on my lower arch which my ortho told me will be difficult to close without damaging the teeth. the ortho thinks it will not be as obvious based on their position but if i cannot live with the them, i can consider bonding. i knew this from day one before starting the treatment. i will see how they look at the end of the ortho treatment before i decide how i will proceed.

[peach]

Apparently my gaps can't be closed because my teeth are small. I really thought they would be closed at the end of treatment or at least nearly closed but the ortho insisted that my teeth are all aligned where they should be. And yes I am disappointed. It was one of the big reasons I took the plunge and got braced. I've been checking out, online, the differences between all the veneer types that my dentist mentioned. my teeth are healthy. i have no issue with enamel or decay on any of those teeth. in order to close the two gaps, he'll need to use 4 veneers so that it won't look like I have abnormally large teeth. I ruled out the crown veneers. That is just way too invasive. I'm only 31 and I really don't want to shave all around my already small teeth for crowns. I've been debating back and forth between the porcelain veneer and the composite. I've read pros and cons for each and everyone has a different opinion. I was thinking of just going for the composite since it's less invasive. I'm thinking that they might hold up pretty well since my bite is where it should be. I'm a bit concerned about the staining risk but I don't drink coffee or red wine. I do like tea but it's not like I couldn't live without it. Have people been content with their composites? I checked out some pictures online and they looked nice to me. Also, my dentist's office is very nice and up to date on technology. my dentist is also fairly young. They obviously do cosmetic work there but I don't know if I'm suppose to be on the look out for a very specific training? I read that cosmetic dentistry actually is not specialized in the dental field and that many dentists get advanced trainings now a days. Just curious what you think.

[33333]

http://www.dentistrytoday.com/restorati ... glesq-case

Sounds like an "advanced" version of bonding to me. Hope that helps!

[eric1122]

Where do you live peach? The only reason I ask because I might need some cosmetic work done after I am done with my braces on at least 3 of my teeth, and might consider some work on 4 other teeth, and would like to get an idea of the possible cost. Are those costs per tooth?

[peach]

Erik 1122- sorry for the really late response. I live in Maryland. The costs listed are for the sum of 4 teeth.
I went with the composite veneers. Here are the after pix. I'm wearing my retainers of course.

[peach]

These are the before pix with my gaps. Ortho said my teeth are aligned but she couldnt close the gaps because my teeth are too small.

[BellaBraces]

Great result. I can see why you weren't happy to keep the gaps.