Cosmetic Dentistry Orange County | Huefner Sensational Smiles Blog

Here is a photo of a typical dental shade guide on the right, showing the sixteen basic shades going from darkest at the far right, to lighter shades on the left. These are the “natural” colors. Ten years ago most almost all porcelain veneers were made in one of those shades. But today, with bleaching and porcelain veneering, most people want their teeth whiter than those more “naturally” colored shades. On the left you’ll note the four new “bleaching shades”, which are whiter than the shades that occur naturally.
Today it is very typical for our patients to bleach their lower teeth and then do their porcelain veneers on their upper teeth in one of the four bleaching shades. At this time shade “020 or BL2” and “010 or BL1” are our most popular for smile makeovers involving 6-10 upper porcelain veneers.
Although the color of the porcelain is very important, I remind our patients that it is not the only thing that determines how white or natural your smile appears. The “translucency” or “opacity” of the porcelain veneers is a huge factor in allowing or not allowing light to partially pass through the porcelain veneers to appear natural. Real teeth have that translucency, and in general, unless the underlying teeth are extremely dark, some translucency is what we want in porcelain veneers or crowns on front teeth to mimic with the life-like and vital look of real teeth.
This doesn’t happen with opaque porcelains or with porcelain over metal (gold) crowns. The opacity, which often appears “life-less” is what so many patients object too when they see dentistry that they think looks “fake”.
But with semi-translucent porcelain veneers, which are bonded over natural teeth, the teeth can look whiter than natural teeth but still look extremely natural because of the “translucency factor”. Most of the smile makeovers with porcelain veneers that we place are done using MAC Empress Porcelain, which has beautiful life-like translucency, great colors and looks extremely natural even in the bleaching shade range. This is why so many of our patients go into the 020 (BL2) or 010 (BL1) shades and their veneers still look “real”.
Our patients always have the final decision on what color to make their porcelain veneers, but for those who want their porcelain veneers to be in the older and darker natural shades (in one of those sixteen shades on the right) I remind them that the color of their new porcelain veneers is permanent and they won’t lighten or darken over the years. With so many people bleaching their teeth and doing things to enhance their image, wanting to make themselves look younger and more attractive, we’re seeing society as a whole more and more often choosing one of the four bleaching shades on the left.
Color is very subjective, but our main criteria for shade selection is that the patient is happy with the choice of their new porcelain veneers. Here are photos of four ladies, each choosing a different color for their new porcelain veneers:


Although these colors may not show up very good on your computer monitor, each of these patients decided on a unique shade. The first lady on the upper left want her teeth to look natural, and not too white. The second lady on the upper right wanted a “white-bright” smile. The third, on the lower left, had only four porcelain veneers and after bleaching the rest of her upper teeth, wanted the four veneers to match the rest of her natural teeth. The fourth lady, on the lower right, was a little older and her entire life had wanted “white teeth!”. Thus, she chose an opaque “Hollywood white” shade.
Regardless of the color chosen by the patient (not by the dentist), our goal is for the patient to be happy with their new porcelain veneers or all-porcelain crowns and the color they choose. That is the most important thing, that the patient is very involved in the treatment choices and happy with the end results.

Dr. Norman Huefner, General and Cosmetic Dentistry, Laguna Niguel, CA

Labels: best color porcelain veneers, color porcelain crowns, cost porcelain veneers orange county, lumineers irvine

As a professional man, Conrad's image was very important to him and he certainly wanted to look his very best. But, showing too much of his gums and having teeth that were too small was very bothersome to him.

BEFORE

What could be done? Braces weren’t the answer. How could he get a great smile, whiter teeth, with less of a gummy smile and teeth of normal size? Fortunately for him, the solution was very straight forward and could be accomplished in a few weeks with porcelain veneers and laser gum recontouring ( a relatively easy noninvasive gum reducing procedure with little discomfort). Also, he wanted his teeth whiter. Note the color he chose for his new veneers and his sensational new smile!

AFTER

Labels: gummy smile, laguna niguel porcelain veneers, lumineers huntington beach, small teeth

When getting a "new smile", either with porcelain veneers, bonding or all-porcelain crowns, it is a serious decision. Of course, you'll want to choose the color teeth that you think makes you look your very best, but how about the length, shape and proportion of the teeth? In many respects, that may have more influence on the final result than just the color. Your dentist, as a cosmetic artist, will suggest a "smile style" that he or she thinks will give you the best overall look.

So, what is the perfect “smile style” for your new porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns? In my previous article about Smile Design, I discussed that there are over 30,000 different ways that a cosmetic dentist can create a new smile and one of the most popular “smile guides”, Dr. William Dickerson’s “LVI Smile Library”. This article features my other favorite “smile guides”, the Lorin Library, created by cosmetic dentist Dr. Lorin Berland of Dallas, TX. Each smile style is a combination of the teeth shapes for the front six teeth. For example, the four front teeth (incisors) could be either square at the corners (s), square at one corner and rounded at the other (sr), or rounded at both corners (r). Similarly, the cuspids or eye teeth (third tooth back) could be pointed (p), rounded (r) or flat (f). Combining these different shapes each produces a uniquely different smile style. Note that the first smile design on the top left has a r-r-f design, meaning the four incisors are rounded and the canines are flat. Please note, this smile library below is only to choose the basic shape of the front six teeth, and in no way reflect the color, length, surface texture or translucency that the porcelain veneers or crowns will have. Those other things are addressed in other aspects of smile design and choosing the best combination for your “sensational new smile”.

In creating a new smile for you with porcelain veneers or all-ceramic crowns, we could use any of the above 18 smile designs from the Lorin Library or any of the 12 smile designs from the “LVI Smile Library”. However, in general I recommend against smile designs that have the cuspids (third teeth back from the center) too pointy (p) or too flat (f). Pointy cuspids can make the smile look to aggressive and flat cuspids can render an older looking smile. It is so important in the beginning of treatment that my patient involve themselves in an active discussion with me regarding the different smile styles available and which would be most appropriate for them. We take into consideration the age, face shape, personality and a host of other things when recommending one smile style over another. Using our technique called “the trial smile” we’re able to make provisional veneers or crowns so that our patient can “test drive” their new smile prior to making any final decision regarding the smile design for their final porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns. This is very helpful, as many patients are very relieved that they can try out their smile before making their final decision.

Dr. Norman Huefner, General and Cosmetic Dentistry, Laguna Niguel, CA

Labels: lumineers newport beach, orange county cosmetic dentists, porcelain crowns irvine, porcelain veneers mission viejo

Kathy is a baby boomer and like many she had much old dentistry. The problem was that all that was ever done was “fix the tooth” at a time, with little or no regard for the big picture….creating natural good looking teeth and smile. The result was a hodge-podge of dentistry.

Old dentistry and orthodontics didn't give Kathy a great smile to be proud of.

Her front two caps didn’t match the rest of her teeth and the metal edge on the one was showing. Her gums were uneven and after having two teeth pulled for braces, the orthodontics collapsed her side teeth so that all you really saw when she smiled was her front six teeth. She has some old fillings and crowns that had discolored her teeth as well. What Kathy wanted now as a “new look”, one that gave her a great smile that she wouldn’t be self conscious about any more. A sensational smile that she could be proud of!

Kathy was treated in just two visits, giving her that sensational smile she wanted. Some laser gum reshaping (also called a “gum lift”) was done to make the gum levels even, her front two porcelain-on-metal crowns were replaced with two all-porcelain crowns (non-metal), porcelain veneers were placed on the other visible teeth so that all her smile would have a beautiful, natural color. Of particular note, the side teeth that leaned in because of the poorly done orthodontics was corrected by placing veneers to widen her smile, giving the illusion that no teeth were pulled. Now when she smiles she shows a full compliment of teeth, not just the front six teeth!

Rejuvenated new smile with porcelain veneers, two porcelain crowns, and laser gum reshaping.

Kathy’s final results now allow her to smile with pride and look her very best.

Kathy's smile rejuvenated with porcelain veneers and cosmetic dentistry

Labels: black line around gums, cost porcelain veneers orange county, mission viejo cosmetic dentist, younger looking smile

One of the biggest concerns people have about their smile is that their teeth discolor over the years. Bleaching is one answer, but often it has to be repeated and doesn't produce teeth as white as patient want. Porcelain veneers is an answer to whiter teeth, and also many other issues (such as size, crowding, proportion, shape, length, etc.), but many patients want to know that their new smile with porcelain veneers won't change color and darken over the years. This was certainly something that used to happen with plastic bonding that was done a decade or so ago.
Fortunately, with a smile on my face, I can assure my cosmetic dentistry patients that by using porcelain veneers we almost never see this the veneers darken over time. Porcelain veneers are dense and smooth as glass, and as such rarely pick up any stain. In placing porcelain veneers for over 20 years I have only had one instance where my patient had veneers that were staining, and that was because he was an avid cigar smoker. After polishing off the cigar stain and showing him a few techniques to improve his brushing habits, his veneers never seemed to pick up any stain after that. However, natural teeth and the older fashioned plastic veneers (which we used to use a lot in the 1980s when cosmetic bonding was first introduced into dentistry) will pick up stain and will often times darken over the years. To help overcome this, natural teeth can be polished in the dental office and bleaching treatments can be used. Old fashioned plastic bonding used to get a yellowish discoloration over the years because of the hardener incorporated into it, but with newer hardeners used today this rarely happen any more, but they still tend to stain and chip more than porcelain. However because of the superior color stability and increased strength of porcelain veneers, most dentists doing significant smile enhancements prefer using porcelain rather than plastic bonding for their patients.
Here is a photo of a patient who returned to my practice 19 years after I did porcelain veneers on her upper front four teeth. Notice that the veneers still match her other upper teeth, no wear or chipping, and they still have a great shine.

THE FACT THAT THESE VENEERS ABOVE WERE DONE 19 YEARS AGO SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE COLOR RESISTANCE AND DURABILITY OF PORCELAIN VENEERS!

It is interesting that this patient returned to my practice because she now wanted all her teeth whiter. This brings up a very important point, that since porcelain veneers don’t discolor it is essential that the cosmetic dentist and patient together choose an appropriate color for the new veneers. Back in 1986 when I originally placed those four porcelain veneers almost all patients and dentists tried to make teeth look natural and not too light in color, as those were the times before teeth whitening procedures became so common. But these days most all patients want whiter and brighter smiles, and choose colors to make them look younger, cleaner and more professional. Thus, when patients have darker teeth, like this lady, today we would generally recommend to do porcelain veneers on 8-10 teeth, to create a more esthetic and homogenous smile that goes along with the lighter color. These are some examples of more current smile makeover with veneers that we are doing in our practice. Note the lighter, more attractive colors currently in vogue.

Dr. Norman Huefner, General and Cosmetic Dentistry, Laguna Niguel, CA

Labels: color porcelain veneers, cost porcelain veneers orange county, porcelain veneer discolor, porcelain veneer stain

BEFORE

She consulted with us to find out what her options were with cosmetic dentistry. After evaluating her teeth and smile, and finding out more just what kind of smile she wanted, we advised doing her cosmetic dentistry with porcelain veneers. It would only takes a few visits, and Shannon could have her new smile completed in little over a month. Understandingly, she was appreshensive, but couldn’t wait to get started on her new smile.

AFTER

Above is the sensational new smile we created for Shannon with porcelain veneers. Note how symmetrical her smile is now, and doesn’t lean towards one side. Also how the edges of the teeth follow the curve of her lower lip. That is an important concept in cosmetic dentistry, called following the “smile line“. The thing that Shannon like best was the color, how much whiter and brighter her smile was, but still extremely natural looking.

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