I had several teeth with dental bonding. One of them developed a chip. My dentist suggested we upgrade to porcelain veneers. I liked that idea, but when he found out I had fillings on some of the teeth he said we’d need to do porcelain crowns instead. Honestly, I don’t know anything about this kind of thing and had never had a dental crown before. I agreed, assuming he knew what he was talking about. That turned out to be a huge mistake. Now I have six teeth that look fake. Not only that, but the two front ones look gray compared to all the teeth next to them. This is especially true in pictures. I don’t like to smile anymore. I almost wish I had a chipped tooth back. Is there anything I can do from here?
Laurie
Dear Laurie,
I hate when I hear stories like this. They give true cosmetic dentists a bad name. I would suggest you ask your dentist to at least re-do the front teeth. If he cares about patient satisfaction, he should be willing to re-do them. When he does, you need to insist he uses a temporary try-in paste.
He may not have this if he doesn’t regularly do cosmetic work. If that is the case, you can tell him a simple water-soluble glycerin will be sufficient. It just needs to be clear in color so you can get a true understanding of the color when you look at it. Make sure you look at it in various lightings.
If he has a problem with that you may have to just go elsewhere to get them replaced properly. You could try to get him to give you a refund on those the dental crowns you are replacing. If he doesn’t care, it will be hard to recover the money unless there is something functionally wrong with them. If you do decide to go elsewhere, my suggestion is to see a dentist who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). It’s unfortunate that porcelain veneers will no longer be possible for you now that the dentist ground your teeth down for crowns. The good news is that AACD accredited dentists are the best cosmetic dentists in the country. They will give you beautiful porcelain crowns.
This blog is brought to you by Des Moines Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Phelan Thomas.