What would you recommend (porcelain veneers vs invisalign)?
It is hard for me to give you an option because either option will give you the result you are looking for. It depends on how you want to get there and depends on what do you value most?
How about I help you by asking you more questions to help you make a decision.
Number 1: Is it an issue if your tx time takes 2 years – will it be a cause of concern?
Secondly, If we need to polish your teeth back slightly, will that be a concern for you?
If patient genuinely cannot make a decision:
If you are my brother or sister, this is what I would do.
I know that you have a wedding to come up/ already had invisalign treatment twice in the last 2 years, I would proceed with veneers as this will target your main concerns and address your needs immediately
The above phrase can be used for any treatment options inc to save teeth or to remove teeth for all on 4.
- What is the cost
- I would rather not say… / I would prefer if you tell me first OR
- Cost is not a problem…
- Do you have a budget in mind
Renovation Analogy:
Renovation of kitchen and bathroom. Different types of Tiles etc.
Alternatively, story of 3 factors that make up the cost difference in porcelain veneers:
- There are many brands and types of porcelain. We have Lithium Disilicate, Bruxer, Emax, Zirconia, Lisi, Empress, Feldspathic porcelain and the list goes on. There’s around 20-30 brands and not all are made equal. If patients ask what we use, reply “we use a combination of material depending on the aesthetic outcome we are trying to achieve, from a combination of lithium disilicate, with or without layering with feldspathic porcelain
- The ceramist that makes your veneers make a huge difference as all veneers are hand made. Some ceramists are new graduates and starting out, some are generalists and mainly do back teeth while there’s a very select few who are master ceramists that focus on the aesthetics or veneers. All our veneers are made in house by our master ceramists from Korea and Japan. Each veneer takes between 8-10hours to complete and as they are handmade and only around 0.3mm thick, extreme care and skill is needed to ensure longevity and aesthetics.
- Skill of the dentist will also play a big role. As a dentist, our job is to envision what your smile will look like, design them and be an interpreter of your desires. Some dentists only do 1case of veneer a week, some once a month. We do 10 cases a day as a group and in the last 1.5-2 years, we have done collectively around 10k veneers. We know what we can do and what we can deliver/ achieve for our patients.
Do veneers (or any tx) last forever?
Veneers will last you a long time, but not forever. God has given us a set of teeth and that should have lasted us our lifetime. while they show have lasted us our lifetime. That’s not happening in your case and a lot of our patients that have seen us here due to various reasons. Veneers are basically man-made and anything man-made does not last forever. However, they should last between 15-25 years. But the more you maintain them, the longer they last. Brush them, floss and see us every 6 months, that will maintain them. It’s like a car and sending your car for servicing once or twice every year. That will give the best chance of them lasting longer in your mouth.
How much are porcelain veneers?
If pt. quoted 1k per veneer?
Renovation story:
renovation of kitchen and bathroom.
Story of 3 factors that make up the cost difference in porcelain veneers:
- There are many brands and types of porcelain. We have Lithium Disilicate, Bruxer, Emax, Zirconia, Lisi, Empress, Feldspathic porcelain and the list goes on. There’s around 20-30 brands and not all are made equal. If patients ask what we use, reply “we use a combination of material depending on the aesthetic outcome we are trying to achieve, from a combination of lithium disilicate, with or without layering with feldspathic porcelain
- The ceramist that makes your veneers make a huge difference as all veneers are hand made. Some ceramists are new graduates and starting out, some are generalists and mainly do back teeth while there’s a very select few who are master ceramists that focus on the aesthetics or veneers. All our veneers are made in house by our master ceramists from Korea and Japan. Each veneer takes between 8-10hours to complete and as they are handmade and only around 0.3mm thick, extreme care and skill is needed to ensure longevity and aesthetics.
- Skill of the dentist will also play a big role. As a dentist, our job is to envision what your smile will look like, design them and be an interpreter of your desires. Some dentists only do 1case of veneer a week, some once a month. We do 10 cases a day as a group and in the last 1.5-2 years, we have done collectively around 10k veneers. We know what we can do and what we can deliver/ achieve for our patients.
How many veneers do I need?
Refer back to Patient photos
Let patient help you decide
set expectations for pt. if they do less
You can do as few as 2 veneers and all the way to 10-12 veneers.
In your specific situation, it could be anywhere from 6 to 10 veneers, depending on your main concerns. What I mean by that is that if you want to correct the width of your smile, 6 veneers will only assist with changing the size/ shape and colour of the 6 front teeth but will not add the width on the back teeth.
Not saying that 6 is not good, it just really depends on what you want to correct. And btw, you can always add more veneers on in the future. It’s just that if you were to do 8-10 from the beginning, there’s cost savings and less appointments.
I am always biased with what I think.
Let’s put it this way. If you want to renovate your kitchen and the builder walks in and says your floorboards in your living room need replacing, your tiles and bathroom needs work done, do you have to do it? Yes, there may be genuine issues with your living room and bathroom, but you definitely do not need to fix them right away. Same things as your smile, as a dentist, this is what I see, but it may not be necessarily your immediate concern. So fix what you think is best for you right now, lifestyle and financially and we will do our best in creating the best smile possible with what we have.
How to ask a patient if they are interested in a payment plan
One thing to note is that 90% of our patients are on a payment plan. Is a payment plan something you may consider? If you do, I will introduce you to your (name PC). He will be the best person to speak to regarding payment options. At the same time, he will be able to assist you with all your logistics, appointment times, scheduling. He’s going to be your personal contact person. We have 155 people in the clinic and instead of calling and speaking to different people every time, you will speak to only 1 person.
To assist John with planning and assisting us with this, I will ask you 2 questions.
The first one is as a weekly repayment, what are you comfortable with? It could be anything? Some patients are happy with $50 some are ok with $500. It just depends on what you would like to do. The more it is, the shorter the repayments. This is not set in stone. You can change your mind anytime. This is only to assist John with the initial planning.
Patient will then give a number and say “that’s perfect”
Now the 2nd question is, is there any deposit that you think you may want to put down? It could be nothing or could be something. Again this is not set in stone. As a deposit, it is for us to assist to determine the length of time in the payment plan. What would it be?
Superannuation plan can be used for all on implants patients
Can I go somewhere else for whitening/ fillings/ clean?
Yes you can, but it’s not something I would encourage for a few reasons:
Firstly if you were to see another dentist and get whitening done/ fillings and they are not done to what we need them to be, it may affect the overall aesthetic outcome. We don’t want to be then saying, they didn’t do a good job and find an excuse for our less than ideal work. But if we look after you from start to finish, if anything does not proceed to plan, we are responsible for the entire process and there’s no blame game between different dentists.
Secondly, your cost will be the same regardless as it is a package and the whitening are complimentary. So whether you do it elsewhere or here, it’s the same cost for the package.
(IF IT’S FOR GENERAL TREATMENT).
Thirdly, the fillings on your teeth that we will be placing veneers on will be done complimentary. There were a lot of cases where patient went elsewhere for fillings and came back for veneers, we had to redo them to fit out veneers. So we decided to just include this as part of the veneer process.
What if the patient is very flaky and unsure about cosmetics eg I am here for you to tell me what I need. I like my size/ shape but maybe a little whiter. I am not sure? Maybe you can tell me?
I understand what you are saying and that is why I am here to guide you. However you need to understand this concept. Cosmetic dentistry, veneers and invisalign are mainly there to enhance your smile. Looking at your smile, there is technically nothing wrong with them, meaning that if you do nothing to them, you’re still fine. It’s not a disease or a life or death situation. The extent of cosmetic treatment would depend on what your concerns are. Our opinion about your smile should not affect you. For example, if you get a builder in your home and you want to renovate your kitchen, and he comes in to tell you that your living room wall colour isn’t the right whiteness, the floor is slightly scratched. However, if these are not your concerns, you don’t have to do anything about them. It’s very similar to veneers or cosmetic dentistry. If you’re happy with the size/ shape, width, color etc of your teeth, you don’t have to fix them no matter what I say. However, because you are here and you are asking for my opinion, I will let you know what I think. You mentioned that you wanted a dazzling smile, and to achieve that, you will need a combination of invisalign and/ or veneers. you can start with 6 veneers but remember that veneers will only help change the size and shape and your smile on the teeth it’s on. 6 veneers will not help improve the width of your smile. To add more width and a broader smile you’ll be looking at 8 or 10 veneers.
It really depends on what your concerns are and remember that you can always add more veneers on, in the future.
I would also like you to understand the costs of veneers as well as this may help with your decision. to do 6 veneers, you’ll be looking at $16.5k, 8 veneers at $19.5k and 10 veneers will be $22.5k. it is a big amount and very rarely any of my patients will pay in full. 90% of my patients will be doing this with a payment plan. For example for 10 veneers, it would be $110 per week over 48 weeks.
Has this made sense so far? Is this still something that you may want to consider and discuss. If you do, I can dive deeper and discuss the sequence of events so you get a full picture of our very specific process here to get the smile that you have always envisioned.
What to if you run overtime (more than 60min) or if the new patient is angry
Waive off the $65 consult.
“I thank you for your patience and trust. I apologize for keeping you waiting today for X min. Your time is very precious and I understand that we ran very late today. The reason why was because there was a patient who travelled 4 hours to get here but came in on a wrong day and we had to squeeze him in resulting in us running late/ midst of doing a surgery and it took longer than expected and everything went very well. What I would like to do is to not charge you the $125 x ray for today at all as I want you to know that I am genuinely sorry about your experience. It’s not who we are at all.
