Or the story of how three techniques (alignment, bleaching and bonding), when skilfully combined, can save you money and give you better results than just one (wall to wall teeth veneers)…
Alignment Bleaching and Bonding vs Wall to wall teeth veneers
Here in Essex, Cosmetic dentistry is evolving. A decade ago when decent porcelain veneers came along cosmetic dentists were very keen on placing lots of veneers – in 2010 there are still a lot of veneers being placed by cosmetic dentists, but here at Winning Smile we believe that the Age of the Veneer is on the wane.
A colleague of mine Dr Tif Qureshi (www.dentalelegance.co.uk) recently addressed the profession with his ‘evolved’ concept of Cosmetic Dentistry – updated to reflect the progress in dental knowledge and treatments within the profession and changing attitudes among our patients. Tif brought the Inman Aligner to the UK from the States and combines this brilliant little brace with 2 other treatments to produce significant dental transformation without the need to grind away good teeth as is the case with veneers.
Tif’s concept is called ABB: ‘Alignment, Bleaching and Bonding’
Alignment
Using the inman aligner the front teeth can be lined up orthodontically in as little as 10 weeks
Bleaching
The cosmetic dentist’s best friend – professional teeth whitening to noticeably ‘lift’ the colour of all the teeth
Bonding
The addition of cosmetic filling material (like our Italian HFO system) where necessary to add the finishing touches.
Here at Winning Smiles we have been using the bleaching and bonding techniques for years and Michael Fennell one of our orthodontists has been doing the straightening. We are no strangers to these ideas. But Tif has put a label on it for us, and we think people will be hearing of this costmetic dental technique a lot more.
As always my regular readers will notice that I like to bullet point the pros and cons
ABB Advantages over Teeth Veneers
- No grinding off of the front surfaces of the teeth
- No porcelain veneers that can fracture easily and begin to lose their looks after a few years – ABB simply enhances your own teeth
- Cost – ABB costs around £2000 at Winning Smiles, 6-8 veneers cost £3600-£4800!
- ABB is one hit: veneers usually need to be replaced every 10 years or so (think of the cost implication of that)
- ABB is kind to the teeth – occasionally a veneered tooth will need a root filling because the nerve reacts badly to the grinding process
Disadvantages of ABB vs Veneers
- Very badly discoloured teeth or teeth with lots of visible fillings may be better treated with crowns or veneers
- Teeth that have always been the wrong shape (eg too small, or misshaped) usually benefit from veneers/crowns despite the drawback
- ABB will take on average 12 weeks – veneers can be done in 2-4 weeks
Jodie Marsh lookalikes need porcelain veneers for that level of whiteness