I need some serious advice. I’ve been having the hardest time with my smile makeover. I went to my dentist about getting porcelain veneers. I was thinking about the Lumineers veneers because they don’t have to take off tooth structure. However, my dentist said, based on the shape of my teeth, I was a better candidate for 360 veneers. I asked him if a lot of tooth structure would need to be removed and he assured me that hardly any tooth structure would be removed. I went ahead and agreed to have them done. Things did not end up at all like I’d hoped. Two of the temporary crowns came off. That’s when I noticed that my natural tooth beneath it was just a small nub. I was mad! He told me hardly any, and I barely recognized it as a tooth. He said that most porcelain veneers are like that then fixed the dental crowns. A few days later, they fell off again. I expressed concern that this would be a consistent problem. He told me that once the permanent ones were on that I would not have problems with them falling out. I will admit to having my doubts. I’m starting to losing any confidence in this dentist. Sure enough, just two weeks after the permanent crowns were placed, the same two crowns fell off again. I don’t know what to do.
Gillian
Dear Gillian,
You have good reason to be upset. Your dentist has a serious problem with the truth. Let’s start with these “360 veneers.” There is no such thing. What your dentist provided for you was porcelain crowns. First, porcelain veneers do not go around your whole tooth (360 degrees). They simply cover the front of your teeth as well as hug the sides just a bit. The only thing that surrounds the tooth are dental crowns.
Second, the amount of tooth structure he removed is inline with porcelain crowns. Look at the image above. On the left you see porcelain crown prep. This looks like a nub, as you described. On the right is the prep for a porcelain crown, which just takes a few millimeters off the surface. When he told you what he did was typical for porcelain veneers, that was an outright lie.
Now let’s talk about the fact that your crowns keep falling off. I could excuse the temporary crowns falling off. They are not bonded on the same way a permanent crown is. However, if a dental crown is permanently bonded on it should not fall off, at least not if the tooth is shaped properly and it is properly bonded on. Most dentists go their entire careers without having a dental crown fall off. I am wondering if your dentist over tapered the teeth where the crowns are falling off.
In your place, I would ask for a refund and then go to an expert cosmetic dentist to have this fixed. You can point out to him the multiple layers of deception here. Giving your crowns when you asked for porcelain veneers means he not only lied to you but weakened your teeth. If he doesn’t give you a refund, you can tell him you are willing to talk to an attorney about the malpractice here.
Find a dentist who is AACD accredited. These are the top cosmetic dentists in the country and will have a better grasp on how to fix what your dentist has done.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head cosmetic dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
