October 2016 - Lowell Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

I had 16 year old bonding on a front center tooth that my dentist replaced with a porcelain veneer. It’s the one on the left. The bonding covered a chip in my tooth that I had in sports accident when I was 22 years old. The bonding got discolored and it actually chipped very slightly on the inner edge. It wasn’t very noticeable to others but I didn’t want it to get any worse. I asked me dentist about replacing the bonding and she said that too much of the tooth was affected to do bonding again so she recommended a crown. After finding out that my tooth needed to be shaved down to get a crown, I asked for a porcelain veneer.

I spent a lot of time at my dentist’s office because she wanted to make sure the veneer matched my teeth which were whitened 3 months ago. She also let me try on a temporary veneer to make sure it looked good. I was excited about finally getting my tooth fixed so that it looked natural.

3 weeks ago I got the final veneer and my doctor did the temporary paste in. I agreed that it was what I wanted. So she bonded it too my tooth. She and her assistant agreed that my tooth looked great. Then they seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry to get to another patient and my dentist said she would check out my tooth in 2 weeks just to make sure everything is okay.

I got to my car and looked at my tooth in my rearview mirror and it looked thick and off center to me. I did a selfie picture of my smile and sent it to a friend. Without my saying anything she noticed that the tooth looked off center. I didn’t tell her that it was actually a porcelain veneer. I called my dentist’s office on the way home and they told me to schedule another appointment. The response I got was that the tooth must have shifted. I am not comfortable about letting her fix my tooth because I don’t trust my dentist to remove the veneer and put it back on. Why after all of that checking is my veneer crooked? Could my tooth really have shifted? Kayla

Kayla – Your description really sounds like the porcelain veneer was incorrectly positioned when it was being bonded to your tooth. The hurried action after it was bonded and cured seems to indicate that your dentist saw that the veneer wasn’t placed correctly.

It is also concerning that your dentist recommended a crown or a porcelain veneer instead of replacing the dental bonding. Dental bonding is a faster, less invasive, and less expensive option that can produce beautiful results. A skilled cosmetic dentist would recommend dental bonding as the first option for restoring your tooth.

An expert cosmetic dentist might be able to remove your porcelain veneer without it cracking, clean the bonding off the veneer and your tooth, and re-bond the veneer. Otherwise, the veneer will need to be replaced. Your dentist hasn’t made the offer to correct the situation, so it is unlikely that she has the skill required to do it.

Take pictures of your tooth, document your conversations with your dentist, and ask for compensation, depending on whether your porcelain veneer needs to be removed and bonded again, or replaced.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.

I have 8 crowns on my top front teeth that are 17 years old. I know that I am fortunate that they lasted so long, so no complaints here. One of the left canine crowns is lose. I am worried that it will come off. I saw my dentist and he said rather than replacing one crown he really needs to replace them all. I went into the office expecting to have the one tooth fixed, but not needing a new crown on every tooth. Do I really need to have all of the crowns replaced at the same time? Do they all need to be replaced anyway? Thank you. Anita

Anita – One lose crown doesn’t mean that all of your crowns need to be replaced. In general, it might be easier for a dentist to ensure the crowns match by replacing them all, but a skilled cosmetic dentist can perfectly match the replacement crown.

If you’ve had crowns for 17 years, it might be time to replace them. A cosmetic dentist will need to measure your crowns at the margin, their overall condition, and your bite to determine if they are wearing out. If any part of your natural teeth is exposed due to wear from the crowns, tooth decay can occur.

Another consideration is the color of your crowns. If they look worn, or if you want a brighter smile, eventually all of your crowns will need to be replaced. If you want a whiter smile and only replace one crown at a time, keep in mind that your new crowns will be noticeably whiter than the others.

It’s more affordable to receive crowns in phases, but the crowned teeth won’t match until all of the work is done.

Speak with your current dentist and with two accredited cosmetic dentists. An accredited cosmetic dentist has extensive post-graduate training in designing smiles that look completely natural.Let each dentist know your goals for your smile and find out how treatment can be made affordable for you. Remember that an examination is required to determine the condition of your crowns and teeth. Each dentist should let you know your options. Compare your options and decide which dentist you want to replace your crowns.

This post is sponsored by Lowell, MA cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Szarek.

My porcelain veneer looks thick and off center

Do I really need to replace all of my crowns so they match?

Archives for October 2016