I went to speak to my dentist about the possibility of braces and then teeth whitening. I have uneven teeth in my front upper arch. My dentist suggested porcelain veneers and said that he could accomplish both of those things at once with porcelain veneers without having to deal with braces for a couple of years. That sounded great to me, so I agreed. He provided 1 tooth bonding and 1 porcelain veneer, plus did some reshaping of my bottom teeth, which we never discussed and I never agreed to. All of this came to a little over $9,000. When he said the job was completed, I was appalled. My smile actually looked worse. The teeth were still misaligned and the porcelain veneer he gave me was too small for the tooth. Plus, my smile was still crooked and yellow. I feel like I’ve paid over 9k to look like I tried to get a smile makeover but it was botched. I asked him how I could get the results he told me we’d get from this treatment. He said only four porcelain crowns on my front teeth, plus a root canal would do it, for an additional $8,000. By then, I’d lost all faith in him and decided to get a second opinion. I’m glad I did. The second dentist thought some teeth whitening and four veneers would solve the problem. No dental crowns. No root canal. I definitely like his plan better. Is there any way for me to get my money back from the first dentist?
Amaya
Dear Amaya,
What a disaster! I hope you don’t mind if we add this to our pile of cosmetic dentistry horror stories. You should be able to recoup your money. You have two strong things working in your favor. One, he promised results you didn’t receive. Two, he did work on you without your permission or even discussing it. This is a big no-no in the dental world.
Start by simply asking your dentist for a refund. Though, given his actions thus far, I don’t anticipate he’ll just hand your money back to you. I’m going to suggest you get an expert cosmetic dentist on your side to help you request that refund. The dentist you got a second opinion from sounds like he knows what he’s doing. Teeth whitening and porcelain veneers are the right treatment for what you described. However, I want you to make sure. Smile makeovers are not taught in dental school. Instead, a dentist has to invest in post-doctoral training. The best cosmetic dentists are AACD accredited. See what the second dentist’s qualifications are. If they are good, then he or she can help you secure your refund. From there, you can get the smile makeover you were promised originally.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.