Michael Bufo, D.M.D.

What is a Veneer?

2009-10-11T16:46:00.003-04:00

People often ask me, "What is a veneer?" They have heard of them but they are not really sure what it actually is so I asked Dr. Bufo to explain (because he is so good at that)! Here's what he had to say...

"A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain that can be bonded to a tooth to change the shape, color or position of the tooth. We can make discolored or yellow teeth bright white again. We can make chipped, worn or unsightly teeth look brand new again. And we can take teeth that are crowded or that have excessive spaces or gaps look like you had braces instantaneously".

"Veneers generally take two visits to complete. At the first visit the teeth are prepared to make room for the porcelain restorations. A small amount of tooth is removed to make room for the porcelain that will be bonded to the tooth. This is to make sure the new veneered tooth does not look bulky when the layer of porcelain is added".

"At this visit impressions are taken. In our office, a temporary set of veneers is created right in the office so you never have to go out without your teeth looking great. The temporary veneers are just exactly like the permanant porcelain veneers they are just made from a different material. They are a “trial smile”and any changes can be made before the actual porcelain veneers are created. The temporary veneers are worn for about 1-2 weeks. At this time the final porcelain restorations are returned from our ceramist and the temporary veneers are removed. After bonding the veneers to the teeth, you can treat them like natural teeth again".

One of the things I like to point out to patients about veneers is that they never stain because they are porcelain. By working carefully together Dr. Bufo and our master ceramist make veneers that are beautiful and very natural looking. One comment I have heard from my patients many times is, "I wish I had done it sooner".

If you have any questions about traditional veneers or no-preparation Lumineers call me and I will be happy to answer your questions. 207-510-6700.
gretchen

Invisalign Winner!

2009-09-13T15:15:00.002-04:00

Kristy Bomba-Turin was the winner of our Invisalign Summer Special. Kristy's name was drawn from all those participating during July and August for $2000 towards her Invisalign invisible orthodontic treatment. Congratualtions Kristy!

gretchen

What Makes Us Special

2009-08-27T08:37:00.003-04:00

Here is a great article...I found it on AOL today. It is common to think of dentistry as a commodity or something you might buy at a big box store like Walmart. But health care is not a commodity. You have a choice in the quality of the care you receive and that's what makes our office different. Please read...educated patients are always our best patients!

gretchen

Teeth Whitening

2009-08-23T20:55:00.008-04:00

Finally, my very first blog... I have been on a long 4 day trip-Newark, Philadelphia and DC. I thought I would get to this sooner but airline travel is tough and I haven't had time to do much more than sleep on my layovers.

Last week I posted some pictures on Facebook of a Zoom Whitening I had done and was very proud of. My patient was thrilled-5 shades whiter. She looked great and was so happy that I wanted to talk about it in my blog. People ask me about teeth whitening all the time. When flight attendants find out I am also a dental hygienist it's usually the first thing they ask about. Do you do whitening? How long does it last? Is it ok for your teeth? Let me tell you...

In my office we have three types of whitening for our patients. The first option is Home Whitening. With this type of teeth bleaching we make custom trays from impressions we take of your teeth. Nite White gel is placed in the trays and worn on the teeth at night while you sleep for about 2 weeks. Patients who prefer not to sleep with the trays in can wear them during the day. Whitening works just as well if you leave the trays in for a few hours each day. Either way, the result is as good as in-office whitening. Teeth generally become several shades whiter, it just takes longer.

The second type of whitening is ZOOM in-office whitening. I have to tell you this is my favorite, I think because it is immediate. With Zoom whitening we use a special light and the whitening process only takes 45minutes. The whole appointment is about 2 hours in the office. Zoom is basically a jump start on whitening that would normally take 2 weeks. It's perfect for people who don't have the time to whiten at home, can't be bothered wearing anything on their teeth at night or who have a special event-like a wedding. You can expect to see teeth to become 4-9 shades whiter after Zoom. I love doing it!

The last type of whitening is unique to our office. I don't know of any office in our area who offers it. It is called Extreme Whitening, also known as Deep Bleaching. We choose this type of whitening for one of two reasons. Patients who have tried whitening in the past and experienced sensitivity or those who have very dark stain such as Tetracycline stained teeth. Temporary sensitivity is due to dehydration caused by the gels. Unfortunately it is impossible to predict who will have it. Sensitivity lasts for a short period-generally a few hours. That's why Extreme Whitening is different. The gel is specially formulated so the teeth do not become dehydrated and sensitive patients are better able to tolerate the whitening process. Extreme Whitening consists of 2 in-office visits and whitening with custom trays at home for 2 weeks in-between. The result for patients, even those with very dark stain or enamel is amazing and NO sensitivity.
Teeth Whitening is permanent and would last forever if we never drank coffee or ate food that tends to stain our teeth. That's why I make custom trays for all of my patients, even Zoom patients. If, down the road-3 months, 6 months you decide you need a touch-up you can pop them in overnight and brighten your smile-that's all it takes! If you have any questions feel free to email me GpBufo@aol.com or call Pam to set up an appointment 510-6700. Tell her you read my blog and get $50 off your whitening appointment!
Gretchen

Gretchen is blogging

2009-08-12T14:58:00.003-04:00

It has been so long since I have blogged, that Gretchen will be taking over our office blogging duties. She is always on her computer and often travels as a flight attendant on the weekends, so she is always looking for something to do while waiting in airports and hotels. And I know she has lots of things on her mind to let our patients know about. Good luck Gretchen and happy blogging.

Happy St Patrick's Day. Spring is almost here!

2009-03-17T13:59:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it has been so long since my last blog post. With the snow finally melting and Spring right around the corner, I guess I will try to bring some renewed life to my blog. I hope everyone is having a great St. Patrick's Day! Smile. Spring is almost here!

Gretchen is back!

2008-11-10T07:08:00.005-05:00

Good news for all of you who have missed Gretchen over the last year. She is still working for Northwest/Delta Airlines as a flight attendant and enjoying her travels abroad (today she is in Amsterdam), but she now has time to be in the office, again. She doesn't have enough time to be the person to answer the phone everyday, but she will be taking over the dental hygiene duties so you will be seeing her for your recare appointments. Gretchen has been a hygienist for over 20 years and many of you may remember that when the practice first opened, she was the one who did all of your hygiene appointments. I know that most of you will be as happy as I am that she will be back in the office helping out and spreading her enthusiasm and attitude. Welcome back, Gretchen!

IACA Meeting

2008-08-20T11:21:00.003-04:00

It has been quite awhile since we have had a posting on our BLOG, but we have been very busy this summer. A few weeks ago our office team attended the annual meeting of the International Association of Comprehensive Aesthetics (IACA) in Orlando, Florida. This organization is the leading organization in the world today that is bringing together the fields of functional neuromuscular dentistry and the art of cosmetic dentistry. The whole team enjoyed taking courses in all phases of cosmetic and neuromuscular dentistry. The day before the meeting Dr. Bufo was presented with an award by the Las Vegas Institute (LVI) as the Full Mouth Instructor of the Year. This award is given to the outstanding Clinical Instructor in the LVI Full Mouth Reconstruction course. This course is a live patient treatment course where dentists from all over the world bring a bite reconstruction patient to LVI to be treated under the direction of a clinical instructor. The course has been completed by less than 600 dentists the world over and only a handful of the graduates are asked to return as clinical instructors. Congratulations to Dr. Bufo!

Lumineers

2008-06-10T14:56:00.003-04:00

Very often we get questions about "Lumineers" and if patients are a candidate for this type of restoration. A Lumineer is a specific brand of porcelain veneer that is heavily marketed to be really fantastic because it can be done without anesthetic and without any tooth grinding. It is basically a "no preparation" (read "no tooth grinding") veneer that is made to be bonded directly over your existing tooth. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well in certain circumstances this really would be a great alternative. The only problem is that there are very few cases that would actually be ideal for "no preparation" type veneers. The ideal case would be when there are very small teeth with gaps in between. Unfortunately these cases are very rare in the cases we see when people want cosmetic dental treatment done. Most cases involve very crowded teeth and teeth that are poorly positioned and crooked. If we were to place porcelain veneers over these teeth without removing some of the tooth to make room for the porcelain, the teeth would end up looking very big and bulky. I think we all remember those cheap Lee "Press-On Nails" that you could get at discount stores. That's kind of like what a Lumineer is like. You can press the plastic over your own nail, but it never really looks real because it just adds bulk to what is already there. So Lumineers, although the marketing hype sounds great, usually are not the ideal way to treat teeth cosmetically. When we do traditional preparation-type veneers, we remove some of the tooth to make room for the new porcelain.. The bad news is that it means we have to use anesthetic and we have to do some tooth grinding. The good news is that we always try to remove the least amount of tooth necessary to create the ideal cosmetic result desired. And this way the tooth always ends up looking and feeling natural, without the excess bulk and thickness that a Lumineer can create. Check out our web site for some examples of how veneers can improve your smile. Or feel free to call for a free cosmetic consultation.

2008-05-15T10:43:00.002-04:00

Case of the week:

This is a case that we just completed this week for one of our patients.

This is Janice who came to our office because her teeth were worn and discolored, making her appear older than she really felt.

After treatment with upper porcelain veneers, her smile is brighter, without the worn edges and her appearance is much more youthful that it previously was. In fact, we told Janice that it looked like the person in the before photos could be the mother of the person in the after photos. This simple treatment took years off of her appearance.

If you are interested in finding out more about porcelain veneers or any other of today's options for cosmetic dentistry, feel free to call to set up a free consultation.

Teaching at LVI

2008-04-17T19:47:00.003-04:00

I am typing this as I sit in a class on the fourth day of a course I am helping instruct in Las Vegas., Nevada. 5 or 6 times each year I am lucky enough to be able to travel to the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI). LVI is the premier post-graduate dental teaching institute in the world today. I have been a clinical instructor here since 2001 and help teach other dentists how to provide the latest in cosmetic dental treatment. This particular course is focused on restoration of teeth with esthetic fillings, porcelain onlays and metal-free crowns. There are 57 dentists and their teams from all over the US, Canada and the world (3 or 4 from Australia) here to learn how to improve their level of care for their patients. Even today these techniques are not routinely taught in dental schools. Many of these dentists (their ages range from 26 to 66 in this course) have never done these types of restorations, even though they are routine in my office. During the course they do live-patient treatment on the patients they bring from their own offices. The courses I instruct in range from this most basic to smile design and smile makeovers all the way up to full mouth reconstruction for TMJ patients. I'm sure that many people give these doctors a hard time about a "trip" to Las Vegas, but the truth is that these courses are expensive and challenging. The doctors need to close their practices for a week, spend money on the course fees, travel, hotel and meals for themselves, staff and patients. All of this to spend 7:30am to 6:00pm every day learning and practicing new procedures so they can go back and improve their care for their patients. If you are looking for a great dentist, look for one of these LVI-trained dentists. They are truly the most caring dentists you will ever find and can provide care advanced far beyond the "average" dentist. Or visit our office. We help train the best dentists in the world, so you can experience world-class dentistry in your own backyard.

Welcome to our Blog

2008-04-09T13:59:00.005-04:00

Good afternoon and welcome to our brand new Blog! Over the next few weeks and months I will be posting news of our practice, helpful information for patients and some examples of the kind of treatment available at our office. Feel free to return often to see what is going on in our office and to learn more about all of the wonderful advancements in cosmetic dentistry and TMJ treatment. Or visit our web site anytime to find the answers to your dental questions. Or e-mail me personally anytime. Talk to you soon!

Welcome

2008-03-20T00:07:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our blog. Please come back soon to read more information about cosmetic dentistry.