Why are crowns and veneers so expensive?

If you want to improve your smile, beautiful custom-made porcelain veneers or crowns are the platinum standard that world-class cosmetic dentists use to create gorgeous smiles. Sometimes referred to as porcelain laminates, veneers are thin, custom-made coverings that go over the face of unsightly teeth.

You may have seen people with unnatural looking dental work that is easy to spot. Perhaps their teeth are white, opaque and block, or maybe you’ve spotted the tell-tale signs of dark metal showing between the porcelain and the gum line. We want our patients smile to appear so naturally beautiful that people will only assume they were born with it. To get this type of result takes a combination of artisans, the cosmetic dentist and the master ceramist.

The first step in the fabrication of the veneers is for the cosmetic dentist to design them in conjunction with the patients’ desires. This is where artistry, science, training and knowledge of materials merge. The dentist must specify the shape, thickness, texture length, colors. Natural teeth are not pure white, but rather have subtle colors – sometimes yellow, blue, purple, or pink – and these vary throughout the tooth. These colors may have to be blended to match adjacent tooth colors. This is accomplished with a special computer similar to matching paint at the hardware store. The cosmetic dentist must communicate the exact specifications for the ceramist to follow.

The most beautiful, realistic crowns and veneers are individually hand made by master ceramists. Each veneer or crown is crafted from special tooth – colored porcelain, than hand painted before firing to create the most natural smile possible. The master ceramists that we use are the same that transform Hollywood stars and supermodels. They are DiVinci Lab in California, the same lab used for the TV show “Extreme Makeovers.”