Whether your crown is new or it has been there awhile, if it suddenly falls out, you need to take quick action.

1. Alert your dentist right away. If it is off-hours, leave a message or have your dentist paged. Sometimes your dentist will make a trip into the office over the weekend to put your crown back into place. While your crown falling out is not an emergency, it can feel like one to you if the crown is on your front tooth, or in a place where your smile reveals the missing crown.
2. After you’ve called your dentist, take matters into your own hands and replace it yourself until your visit to the dentist. You can find dental cement at your local drug store. Brush and floss your teeth, and then rinse your mouth out with a cup of warm water mixed with a tablespoon of salt. Then clean the crown with warm water and a toothbrush and let it air dry. Apply a few drops of the cement onto the crown and carefully put it back in place over your tooth. Hold a cotton ball onto to the bottom of the crown and press hard for at least two minutes. This is a temporary solution, so treat it as such – avoid chewing on that side of your mouth so that your crown stays intact until you can see your dentist.

At your dental appointment, your dentist will discuss your options for replacing your crown. If the crown is new, and in good shape, your dentist may just reapply the high-grade dental cement and replace your crown right then and there.

If the crown is new, but has a crack or chip in it, your dentist will want to replace your crown with a new one. Discuss with your dentist if this is covered under your insurance, as replacing a crown can be quite expensive.

If your crown is old and has suffered years of “wear and tear,” your dentist may recommend replacing it with a new, stronger crown. There are several different types of crowns that your dentist may recommend:

• Porcelain or Ceramic crown – A porcelain or ceramic crown is a good choice for teeth that show in your smile, as they are able to best match the color of your other teeth. These types of crowns can be applied in two ways – cemented directly to the tooth that is being “capped” or bonded to metal that your dentist has fitted over your tooth. Bonding the porcelain or ceramic crown to metal provides higher durability.
• Resin crowns are made up of all-resin material that is a much cheaper crown, yet provides less durability, as resin crowns are prone to cracks and fractures, and may need to be replaced more often. The material used in all-resin crowns is similar to the material that your dentist uses for regular white (not silver) tooth fillings.
• Gold alloys and all-metal crowns are the strongest and most durable, as they hardly ever need to be replaced. However, they are the least popular crown as the gold cannot be matched to your own tooth color and they appear “outdated” compared to some of the other options. But if the tooth in question is a molar for example, or you are not concerned with the appearance of this particular tooth, they are the most durable crown, and will most likely last a lifetime.

It’s not just a coincidence that most Hollywood stars have beautiful teeth. Getting veneers is at the top of the list of what celebrities do to look more beautiful than the rest of us (which is what we require of them). Most celebrities  choose to have veneers to disguise stains, gaps, chips, and other imperfections and  get that “red-carpet” smile. They are normally not born with the perfect smiles that we see.  They purchase those smiles.

A veneer is a layer of material placed over a tooth.  There are two purposes for having this procedure done.  The first purpose is to improve the looks of the tooth. The second purpose is to protect the tooth from damage.  The health-conscious celebrity will want to do both.

There are also two types of materials used to apply veneers.  A composite veneer is one that is placed either directly to the tooth, or indirectly (that is, prepared in a lab, and then bonded to the tooth).  A porcelain veneer is applied only indirectly to the tooth. The advantage of a porcelain veneer is that it can disguise gaps without aligners or braces.

Additionally, there are two types of veneers:  the first is a full veneer crown, which covers all the tooth surfaces.  The second is a laminate veneer, which only covers the surface of the tooth (providing beauty, but not necessarily full quality).

One might therefore conclude that the best veneer, one that a celebrity can afford and would prefer, would have the following qualities:

1.  Improve the looks of the tooth
2. Protect the tooth from damage
3. Provide beauty
4. Provide quality

So in discussing celebrity veneers, you would likely be discussing veneers that possess all  the above-listed qualities – or you could be talking about veneers that are usually chosen by celebrities.  Any veneers possessing both of these attributes, would definitely earn the title of “celebrity veneer.”

Which  celebrities have the 10 best veneers?  There are some stars who are always mentioned when you talk about the beautiful results.  Others are mentioned but with a negative caveat such as, “nice but too big”, or “should have gotten braces first.”

Celebrities that seem to be mentioned the most when you talk about beautiful smiles after veneers are:

1. Tom Cruise
2. Miley Cyrus
3. Jamie Foxx
4. 50 Cent
5. Hilary Duff
6. Catherine Zeta-Jones
7. Denzel Washington
8. Jessica Simpson
9. Ben Affleck
10. Zac Effron

Veneers helped Tom Cruise become a star.  Miley Cyrus’ veneers are called “the best.” Jamie Foxx gets the nod as “one of the best.” 50 Cent’s mega-watt smile “upped his game.”   Hilary Duff’s smile makeover boosted her career. As for Catherine Zeta-Jones, it is said that veneers  transformed her career also.  Denzel Washington is known for his “famous smile.”  Jessica Simpson’s smile is called “perfect..” Ben Affleck’s veneers make him a tad more glamorous, and  Zac Effron is on absolutely every list.

New Trends

These days choices in getting that beautiful Hollywood smile are trending toward the idea that “less is more.” Stars want teeth that are big, but not too big, and white, but not too white.  Like the main character in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, they want their celebrity veneers to be not too little, and not too big, but just right!