Q: I just hit 50 and see many stars have beautiful teeth no matter how old they are. What can I do other than a facelift?
A: I’m getting close myself to the big “five-O”. I recommend to anybody who wants to freeze time and stay young to consider investing in porcelain veneers. I did it 14 years ago and, like my patients say, it is “the best thing I ever did for myself.”
Although a significant investment at @$1400 per tooth, 10 upper porcelain veneers will permanently change the color and shape of your teeth. Many patients opt to have veneers to create straight teeth vs. braces. They don’t stain and with proper care can last a very, very long time. Some of my patients have the same veneers I placed 20 years ago with no need to re-do them.
Veneers are not crowns. The teeth are not drilled down to stumps or “spikes”. We just remove .8 millimeters of enamel off the face of the teeth to allow thin facings of porcelain to be permanently affixed to the tooth’s surface. Usually, patients are given local anesthesia to numb the teeth for this process, which can take two to three visits.
Studies show the first body part that someone notices upon meeting someone for the first time is the smile. Nothing shows age more than the teeth. Veneers cost as much as used car, but will not depreciate, never fade and could perhaps last a life time. Toyota Corolla or a gorgeous smile?
Dr. Mitchell Josephs practices Implant Cosmetic and General Dentistry and hosts “Tooth Talk” on WBZT AM123.0 Dr. Josephs is on staff at West Palm Hospital (Formerly Columbia Hospital) and is a Faculty Advisory Board member at McGill University’s Faculty of Dentistry and completed his residency at Manhattan’s Beth Israel Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Hospital.
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drjosephs@palmbeachdentist.com
44 Cocoanut Row, Palm Beach, FL 33480
888-DRTOOTH (888-378-6684)
