I am a recovering bulimic. I am really embarrassed about the state of my smile and want to get a smile makeover. Now that I’ve gotten my issue under control, it will give me kind of a clean slate. Are porcelain veneers a good option for me?

Barbara K.- Michigan

Barbara,

Porcelain veneers are a great way to renew a smile makeover, but they will only deal with the front of your teeth. As a recovering bulimic, you really need to put most of your consideration on the back of your teeth, because that is where most of the damage has occurred. A great option for that is to get porcelain crowns. It will remake the front, back, and sides of your teeth.

When treating recovering bulimics we’ve noticed how much it helped their confidence to have a new, undamaged smile. We often hear they enjoy feeling both normal and beautiful, and are especially relieved not to have their smile as a reminder of their past.

One word of warning–Make sure you go to a skilled cosmetic dentist. You don’t want to end up with shoddy workmanship. Any dentist can claim to be a cosmetic dentist, because there isn’t an official cosmetic dentistry specialty. You don’t want to spend all that money on a smile makeover only to be disappointed with it.

This blog is brought to you by Oklahoma City Dentist Dr. Don Swearingen.