I need some help in dealing with a prosthodontist. This whole situation started when I needed two dental crowns placed on my front teeth. My dentist had a hard time matching the crowns to the shape of my natural teeth. He admitted that and gave me a referral to a prosthodontist. When I first went to the prosthodontist, the first set of crowns he gave me were way too opaque and looked like pieces of chalk. I asked him to redo them and he said okay even though I could tell he wasn’t too thrilled about it. Then, when I went in for my second pair, he bonded them on permanently saying they matched what I wanted perfectly. I saw them before he placed them on my teeth. At that point, they looked fine. It wasn’t until they were next to my natural teeth that I realized they were much grayer than my natural teeth. When I asked him to redo them again he said he would only switch them to the earlier opaque color. If I want him to do another set I will have to pay another full fee. He keeps telling me he is the expert not me. But, it is unreasonable to want dental crowns that match my teeth?
Macey
Dear Macey,
You are battling the prosthodontic mindset. He was taught that he is the expert and knows better than his patients. The problem with this comes with what you’re experiencing. What does the smile look like. He may be an expert in placing crowns, but matching them to adjacent teeth requires excellent cosmetic dentistry skills. Skills he is obviously lacking.
Even the best cosmetic dentists usually have to do a few try-ins to get front teeth to match perfectly. However, they care about the integrity and beauty of their work so they put the effort in. I would not pay him the extra money to do another set. I have very little confidence that he will do any better the third time around.
You can ask for a refund so you can have this done properly with an expert cosmetic dentist. My recommendation would be to use a dentist who is AACD accredited. I suspect he is going to resist the idea of a refund. My suggestion for this would be to get your dentist on your side. He seemed to be a dentist with integrity and he is the one who referred you to this prosthodontist. If the color is off enough, your dentist can put some pressure on him to refund your money. Sometimes dentists are more willing to listen to their peers.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
