I had a chipped tooth that had dental bonding done. It was getting old and ended up breaking. I wanted to just replace it but because the chip is 1/5 of my tooth they said it was not possible to replace the bonding. My dentist wanted to repair it using a dental crown but I didn’t want to lose any more tooth structure, so I suggested a porcelain veneer, which doesn’t take away as much. When the veneer came in, the size and shape looked fine. The color was whiter than my other teeth, but I anticipated that because we knew I would be whitening my teeth later. I saw it before they bonded it on and everything seemed great. After they bonded it they told me it was gorgeous and sent me on my way. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized it was a tad crooked and the bottom was too long compared to the other tooth. Plus it sticks out a bit almost like they put on too much glue, which also puts a small gap behind the bottom of the tooth. I called them about it when I got home. They said there isn’t anything that can be done about the length but they can fill in the gap. To me that doesn’t sound like it will make the tooth stick out any less. Is there anything I can do about this?

Morgan

Dear Morgan,

These type of stories are so frustrating to hear. This is one of the big problems with cosmetic dentistry not being a recognized specialty. Any general dentist can do it regardless of the amount of training or skill they have. There are quite a few things wrong with your case. First, the dental bonding. That could have been replaced. My guess is she doesn’t know how to do dental bonding so she steered you toward a procedure she is familiar with, dental crowns.

You were wise not to get that. Not only would it have severely ground down your healthy tooth structure, but it is rather tricky to match a dental crown to a front tooth. With your dentist’s cosmetic skills I don’t think it would have looked very natural. A porcelain veneer should have been fine.

As for it being whiter in anticipation of whitening your teeth, your dentist should have had you do the teeth whitening beforehand, when it would make more sense. You can exactly match a porcelain veneer to the tooth color, but it is almost impossible to exactly match teeth whitening to a porcelain veneer. Plus, whitening the underlying tooth structure is always helpful.

Now to your current problem. I find it curious they let you look at it before but not after they bonded it on. My suspicion is they knew something was off. Even when you get your hair cut they have you look at the result before you get up. It’s interesting to me that they told you nothing could be done about the length. This is just more evidence to me that she doesn’t know what she’s doing with cosmetic work. The length on the porcelain veneers can be trimmed.

However, your situation is more complicated and more serious. If it is crooked, not only will it look weird but there are going to be areas where there will be gaps that can harbor bacteria. This leads to decay under your veneers. The only way to solve your case is to get a refund from this dentist and have the case re-done by a cosmetic dentist with more expertise. My suggestion is you use one of the dentists listed on the mynewsmile.com website. Each of them are prescreened for their technical expertise as well as their artistry.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.