Dr. Chal's Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

I went to a well advertised Lumineer dentist for a consultation. I already have 12 veneers(17 years old) that need replacing. To complete the look, I also need to replace 8 crowns. The shocking price was $39,000.00! The veneered teeth were shaved in the previous application. I know that veneers are not cheap, but this price seemed preposterous. After looking at his before and after photos decided this wasn’t for me.
- Christine from Florida

Christine,
Thanks for your interesting comment.

Yes, it’s not wise to price shop for cosmetic dentistry, because the cheapest dentist is rarely good. But it doesn’t follow that expensive cosmetic dentistry is always good. Check the credentials of the cosmetic dentist. Looking at photos of their work helps, but often the lay person doesn’t know what to look for, and cosmetic dentistry that looks good to the untrained eye can have functional flaws.

And there are other brands of porcelain veneers that look much better than Lumineers, in my opinion. See our page on Phoenix Lumineers for more information.

Click here to read more about the costs of cosmetic dentistry and the costs of porcelain veneers.

Last week we had a patient come in to my office, and I will call her Lidia.

Lidia had a smile done in Lumineers, and she was very unhappy with it, and comment that she felt that she had “lost her personality,” and that she looked like she was wearing a cheap denture.

What happened was that her dentist showed her cracking in her front teeth and told her she needed to have the Lumineers to strengthen them. The dentist told her that his fee was $1900 per tooth, but that in September he could give her a two-for-one deal.

There are several red flags here. The first is in the diagnosis. What appear sometimes to be “cracks” in front teeth are usually merely craze lines that don’t compromise the structure integrity of the teeth.

The “two-for-one” special is a big red flag. This is a pressure sales tactic to get a person who may not be totally sold on the procedure to act quickly, before they get cold feet. I don’t trust deals like that in dentistry.

And Lumineers, the way they are usually done, add bulk to the teeth, and it is true that they can end up looking like a cheap denture.

Unfortunately for Lydia, the Lumineers procedure she had done isn’t truly reversible the way they promote it, so she would need a new smile makeover. She took out a loan to pay for them, and can’t afford to have it re-done yet, so she’ll have to wait to have this fixed.

The good news is that when she chooses to have it re-done, she will be able to truly have a gorgeous smile that will accentuate her personality. Lumineers cases, at least from what I have seen, tend not to have the artistry of a beautiful smile - they seem to look like the “one size fits all” makeover.