Can you advise me. I’m writing to you because you are not in my area, so won’t be in my network. I joined the Colonial Dental Plan in order to get a discount on my smile makeover. I have a porcelain crown that needs to be replaced, so I’m looking for someone who can do crowns and veneers. There looks to be 11 dentists on my plan who advertise as doing porcelain veneers. I can save $300 per veneer with them. I’m having trouble figuring out which of them is the best to go to. Do you have any advice for me?
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
Be careful here. There are so many cosmetic dentistry horror stories from people who, like you, tried to save money on dental care with these insurance plans. This is more true when it comes to cosmetic work, where these end up being more of a marketing scheme than anything else. It generally works like this. A sales representatvie from the “insurance” company goes to a dentist who has way too many empty chairs and promises to fill those chairs if he agrees to give some discounts and free cleanings.
You won’t see many excellent cosmetic dentists agreeing to this because they use top of the line materials and have invested in post-doctoral training in order to do this with skill and artistry. Those dentists do not have trouble filling their seats.
Of course, it is always possible that one of the dentists on the list knows what he is doing. I would start by looking at their smile gallery, which is a sort of brag book of the different cosmetic cases they have done. If they don’t have a smile gallery, then don’t let them near your smile makeover. They will not know what they’re doing. If they do, make sure the results are stunning. If they are, take the extra precaution of calling the office and having them confirm that these are cases the dentist has actually done himself and not stock photos of someone else’s work.
In all honesty, you will probably be better off just having your teeth whitened, which any dentist can do correctly, and replace the crown. If the crown is on a front tooth, pay for a great cosmetic dentist to do that one procedure and save up to have the porcelain veneers done correctly later. Too many patients discovered too late that there is a differece between affordable dentistry and cheap dentistry.
This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.