I had six porcelain veneers placed by Dr. [name redacted]. After four days, the left incisor fell off. I was only eating bread. The tooth was super sensitive from the moment the veneer fell off so I got an appointment at his office as soon as possible. He said it fell off because my bite was off so he shortened the veneer and the tooth beneath it. Less than a week later it fell off again, this time when I ate a banana. I was none too pleased, and again he said the bite was off so he wants to do a porcelain crown instead. I’m having serious doubts about this. Do you have an alternate recommendation?

Patrice

Dear Patrice,

My first suggestion is not to allow this dentist anywhere near your teeth. He is in over his head and doesn’t have the integrity to admit it. First, he says your porcelain veneer fell off because your bite was off. As the dentist, it was his responsibility to notice things like that before he bonds them on and make sure the veneers are crafted in a way the helps that.

However, I don’t buy that excuse. When a porcelain veneer is properly bonded on, the result will be a chipped porcelain veneer if there is a problem with the bite. It wouldn’t just fall off.

Doing smile makeovers isn’t taught in dental school. Compound that problem with cosmetic dentistry not being a recognized specialty and it puts patients in a real quandary. Any dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist regardless of the training they received. To do it well requires significant post-doctoral training. I don’t think your dentist has that training.

Now the second bonding falling off he’s also blaming on your bite being off. But, didn’t he already adjust that? Now he wants to destroy healthy tooth structure to place a dental crown? I don’t think so. That is a massive overtreatment.

I’m going to recommend you look on the mynewsmile.com website. The dentists listed there are prescreened for their technical training, skill, as well as the artistry of their work. Any one of them can properly bond on the veneer that keeps falling off.

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