I’m so frustrated I don’t know what to do. Part of me is afraid I’ll never smile in public again. I had a chipped tooth repaired about five years ago with dental bonding. I broke it. My dentist retired. He sold his practice to a dentist he’s known for years. She’s very nice, but I’m not thrilled with the repairs to my tooth. I wanted her to simply put more bonding on the tooth. She said that once it’s gone you can’t repair it. She suggested I get a dental crown. I really didn’t want to do that. It would mean grinding my tooth down to a nub. I asked about a porcelain veneer. She agreed. I’m glad she was willing to listen to me, but the veneer she gave me doesn’t match my other teeth. I mentioned that to her, but she said it looks fantastic and it’s probably just the angle I’m looking at it or the light. But, I never had trouble with my natural teeth matching and I looked at those with the same angles and lights.
Farra M.
Dear Farra,
Your new dentist may be very nice and great a general dentistry, but she doesn’t have very much knowledge when it comes to cosmetic dentistry. I’m not sure why she thought the bonding couldn’t be re-done. It could have and dental bonding is the standard treatment for chipped teeth. My guess is she’s just not confident with her ability to do it so she suggested a crown, which she was comfortable doing.
About your porcelain veneer. Unfortunately, once it’s bonded on there’s not much which can be done to change it. The only way to make this match would be to have it re-done entirely. Though, I doubt even if your current dentist was willing to redo it, you’d get the results you want. Placing a single porcelain veneer takes a great deal of skill to get the coloring just the right mix to blend with your other teeth seamlessly.
Your best bet is to find an expert cosmetic dentist to have it done right. You could ask for a refund. Hopefully, she’ll comply knowing deep down that the veneer doesn’t really match. To find an artistic cosmetic dentist, you have a couple of good options.
The first is to look for a dentist who has reached accreditation level with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Accredited dentists are quite artistic and can make you a gorgeous veneer. The other is to look at the mynewsmile.com website to see who they recommend close to your zip code. They only recommend expert cosmetic dentists.
No matter which method you choose to find them, you’ll get a great dentist. Plus, I’d almost be willing to bet all of them have a beautiful smile guarantee. They certainly wouldn’t be satisfied if you weren’t.
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