Dr. Gerilyn Alfe

Recent comments

• Posted to Wonderful Experience - Chicago, IL on 19 Oct 2011

  Hi there, this is Dr. Alfe and please allow me to clarify. Our cost for veneers start at $2000/tooth. It was a while ago that I treated this patient and the reason for the confusion is that the patient had a few different procedures performed by me and by other dentists and misremembered the cost for the veneers. I spoke with the patient offline about this and didn't think I needed to post but I don't want anyone having misinformation. We do have 0% financing available for qualified patients through outside companies so many patients can have the treatment done that they want and spread their payments out over time.

• Posted to Depressed After Porcelain Veneers on 13 Aug 2009

  I am sorry that your experience was not a good one. I always recommend to patients that they try to have the original dentist rectify the situation before going elsewhere to have them replaced. Longevity of veneers is dependant on many factors such as oral hygiene, amount of tooth structure left under the veneer, patient's bite scheme, preexisting fillings, etc. For most patients, I tell them that veneers should last somewhere between 10-20 years. At that time, the amount of repair may be limited to some marginal rebonding or it could require complete replacement of all veneers. If you do need them replaced, there is always some inherent risk to preparing the teeth again. No matter how careful the dentist is, treating the teeth numerous times can cause damage over time.

• Posted to Expectations Not Met on 12 Aug 2009

  When it comes to teeth whitening, the one-hour, one-time in-office procedure often leaves patients disappointed and worse, in pain. I explain to my patients that, much like working with a personal trainer, a one-hour in-office session will not reverse all the damage that has been done over the years. We wouldn't expect to eat twinkies every day, go see a personal trainer for just one hour and then be in fantastic shape for the rest of our lives! Tooth whitening is similar to personal training in that it is a process to get the results you want with little to no sensitivity and then also have the results last. In-office whitening is a great kick-start visit with follow up whitening at home and one to two more in office visits to complete the procedure (depending on how dark the teeth are to start). Most patients can then do their own maintenance at home every 2-3 months easily to maintain their color.