I had six porcelain veneers placed by an expert cosmetic dentist in South America who studied in New York. He did a good job. I like how they looked. I only have two problems. My smile is very wide, so I think I need to get four more veneers to make sure that all my teeth are covered when I smile. The second problem is that my gums by the six veneers I have already are still red and inflamed. They dentist said that would go away but it’s been over two weeks. Do you know how much longer it will take for that to calm down? I don’t feel like I can get the new ones while the first ones are still healing.
Eileen
Dear Eileen,
I have some bad new for you, I am afraid. Your gums being red will not improve without treatment. It may be that they’re just irritated from leftover cement, but it could also be more serious. You may have gum disease. It was likely brought on by your porcelain veneers not being properly placed. They should fit seamlessly and allow for no bacteria to be caught on their margins near your gums. Unfortunately, that leaves you in the position you are in.
If a case using porcelain veneers were to come before the accreditation board for the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) that had reddened gums, they would not pass. I want you to see an expert cosmetic dentist. One who is AACD accredited. They can tell you what the problem is with the veneers. Hopefully, the solution is an easy one, such as removing some excess bonding cement.
Dental tourism rarely works out. I don’t think your dentist was the expert he purported. First, he allowed your gums to get inflamed and acted as if that were normal instead of a sign of a problem. Second, he only gave you six veneers when your smile is actually ten teeth wide.
Unfortunately, this is going to end up costing you more than if you’d just had it done by a dentist here to begin with. However, even though this ended up a bit of a disaster, there are some cosmetic dentistry horror stories relating to dental tourism that ended with the patient losing part of their jaw.
This blog is brought to you by an expert cosmetic dentist in Hilton Head, Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
