Local resident earns certification in Lumineers

Sparta — Cosmetic dentist Dr. Harry A. Long has spent the past 20 years designing new smiles for patients from all over the country and Europe. Beginning in 1983, when the first porcelain laminate veneers were brought to the dental profession, Long began his mission to create whiter, straighter, beautiful smiles. His passion for this area of dentistry has led him to expand his knowledge by completing the Den-Mat certification course in Lumineers. Long earned the recognition of his peers as the recipient of the “Cosmetic Dentist of the Year” in 2004. The traditional way to do porcelain laminate veneers is to take lots of digital photographs of the patient’s teeth, face and smile. The doctor and the patient sit together and evaluate the disharmonies and decide upon a plan to correct them. After a plan has been agreed upon, Long designs and creates the corrected smile in porcelain. Traditional porcelain laminate veneers require some preparation of tooth structure to create a natural appearing smile. It is more comfortable to use anesthesia to accomplish this. Impressions are taken, temporaries made and in just two weeks, the new restorations are inserted. Many patients do not wish to have injections or to have their teeth prepared to get a new smile. They want to preserve the existing tooth structure wherever possible. For these patients, there is now another option, the Lumineer Smile Design System, which requires only two visits. The patient does not need to be made numb and often no tooth structure is removed. Patients with chipped, discolored and sensitive teeth will experience lasting results in two visits, without the injections or drilling their teeth. According to Long, teeth that are crowded or have lots of spaces will come out looking beautiful. Call him at 973-694-5101 to arrange a complimentary consultation or visit on the Web at www.drharrylong.com/.