Do I Need Invisalign to Do Porcelain Veneers?

My two front teeth are crooked. Other than that, the only thing that is really wrong with my teeth that they need to be much whiter than they are. I was hoping to get six porcelain veneers, but my dentist said with my crooked front teeth I should do Invisalign first. I thought porcelain veneers can make your teeth straight. Do I really need both?

Abigail

Dear Abigail,

Getting a dentist to make your teeth look straight with porcelain veneers would take one of the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They would be more expensive than your average cosmetic dentist. The reason your dentist is suggesting the Invisalign is because he does not have the skills to do that without it.

If the only thing wrong with your smile is the crooked front teeth and that they need whitening, I think I can save you a small fortune. My suggestion is that you get Invisalign to straighten the teeth, then you can either whiten your teeth after that or get some whitening gel to wear in your Invisalign aligners. They are able to double as teeth whitening trays so it is perfectly acceptable to do both of the procedures at the same time.

Your dentist should be able to provide you with the whitening gel to wear in the aligners. If he refuses, you can likely find some online. It won’t be as strong, but it will whiten your teeth.

Even if you were to get porcelain veneers you would still have to whiten your teeth. You mentioned six veneers. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide so you would want to whiten the rest of the teeth so that they blend in with the veneers.

Invisalign and whitening gel together are thousands of dollars less expensive than veneers alone.

This blog is brought to you by Bee Cave Orthodontist Dr. Alberto Tostado.
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