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Good veneers are an art form.
Meet the dentist behind Hollywoods most perfectly imperfect, youd-never-know-theyre-porcelain teeth.
Its easy to spot bad veneers.
When dental veneer work is good, on the other hand, the veneers disappear.
Kyle Richards is an Apa client, as is beauty influencer and makeup mogul Huda Kattan.
Naturally excellent-looking teeth are not cheap.
Veneers are an investment, like a Viking range or a finicky Ferrari.
Of them, Dr. Apa sits at the very top.
Apa hails from Clifton Park, an upstate New York town far from the private jet circuit.
His father worked in insurance and his mother was a high school librarian.
His grandmother worked in a dental office, and her boss looked to have a life of relative leisure.
Oh, this guys golfing on the weekends.
He lives in the nice neighborhood of Clifton Park.
This dudes living, Apa recalls thinking.
In high school, Apas dentist gave him an audiotape ofDr.
Larry Rosenthal, then the preeminent cosmetic dentist (He was a superstar.
He was on Oprah.
He was doing stuff that no other dentist fathomed, Apa says), and his path became clear.
Hes a genius at solving complicated dental puzzles, Ruth says, and thats what dentistry is.
A lot of dentists will do a few of these cases every year, says Ruth.
Dr. Apa does a few of these cases every single day.
Its never been done before in the history of dentistry.
What makes for excellence in the field of cosmetic dentistry is subjective and intensely personal.
Theyre asking for teeth that are flattering, he says, an improved version of nature.
The work is not just aesthetic, Apa says.
They have to use [their teeth] to function.
In the before photo, life and normal use has worn down the edges of her admittedly already-decent teeth.
Back in New York City, I got a taste of the Apa experience.
I watched as Apa dipped in and out of exam rooms, moving with precision and ease.
He greeted me and, with a quick glance, diagnosed me with a cross bite.
Everyone in the office exuded a seriousness to match Apas.
He and the other ceramists treat each handmade veneer like sculpture.
What I do is not only making teeth, he says.
And when things dont go right, it hurts.
My experience at the New York office was more pleasant than any dentist office Id visited in my life.
Then I went to the LA location.
There, every surface is clean, white, and seamless.
A cleaning is $350 and he does not accept insurance.
But like with most things, sticker shock fades when the results are exemplary.
Tom Brady works from the chip, Apa tells me, as in the chip on his shoulder.
I think I work from the chip.
I overcompensated like crazy, and now, for the first time, I dont have to.
Its kind of easy when you see the path to the top, he says.
You just have to follow that path.
Then when youre at the top, you have to actually create a new path.
