Can lumineers be fitted over crowns by a London dentist

Q. According to the lumineers page on your website it states that lumineers can be fitted over crowned teeth - however one of your panel had told someone that this could not be done and they would have to have new crowns. I am interested in lumineers since they would solve my problem of stained slightly crooked teeth all in one. I only have two crowns and not that much money. Previously I had thought about getting clear braces and then spending out on whitening treatments etc - but this system seems so much better espeically since the dark part of the crown seems to be showing through. Would you still recommend lumineers in my case? And if so would I be better seeing an experienced London dentist rather than going to my local dentist (who is on your list but did not mention this nor even clear braces until I specifically made the point - I don’t think they are very “into” this type of thing. I would welcome your response. Thanks.

A. Dear J,

It is true that it is some times possible to place lumineers over existing crowns - in fact lumineers are just the same as any porcelain veneers but have been “branded” and marketed as something different. From your question I presume the the existing crowns that you have are part of your smile and would be involved with the changes that you wish to your smile. Whether it is a good idea to do this is another matter as explained below:

1. Cost - You are unlikely to cave money in veneering your crowns as veneering an existing crown or replacing that crown completely is usually about the same cost.

2. Aesthetics - due to the transparency of the veneers the underlying substructure may show through- this is usually metal and would produce a grey tooth.

3. Bonding - sometimes he underlying substructure is zirconium. At present it is impossible for us to bond to this.

As you can see what at first seems an obvious solution has some draw backs. Often it is better in the long run to take the simplest solution- replacing your existing crowns and what ever else treatment might be desirable - whitening, braces, veneers, crowns etc.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Dr Julian Caplan BDS
Aviva Cosmetic Dentistry
Director on the board of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

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This post was published on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 1:02 amand is filed under Dr Caplan's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Dental Veneers, Q. Dental crowns, Q. Smile Makeovers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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