Please help me. I just spent a lot of money having 6 Lumineers put on my daughters front six top teeth. They are horribly done, too bulky, squared instead of tapered (as we requested), and the color doesn’t match her other teeth. Here is what happened: We had a consultation for Lumineers and showed the dentist a picture of the kind of Lumineers smile we wanted. He said he was Lumineers certified and could do that. He also said we’d get to try them in and see them in different lights, and if we weren’t happy he could make some changes. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. When we came in to have them put on, he put them on with some kind of temporary paste. Her mouth was pulled back quite a bit, so it was hard to tell how they really looked. He kept telling my daughter how beautiful they looked, but I thought they looked too bulky and square. I couldn’t tell the color issues until we got home. He actually only let us look at them in one lighting, saying it was the most natural lighting. I mentioned my feelings, and he said that was because it was a temporary paste and they’ll look even better when they are on permanently. They didn’t, and when my daughter went to school she was teased mercilessly, being called horse teeth. So, I took her in to fix all the gaps in her teeth so she’d feel less self-conscience and instead the situation is worse. I spoke to the dentist about it and he said he’d taper them some, but I think I just want to have them removed and get a refund. Is that possible? I’d like to find a different dentist to do these for her.
Laurie, A frustrated mom- Kansas
Laurie,
I’m sorry for your experience. Unfortunately this type of situation is not uncommon. There is a difference between a dentist who does cosmetic work and a cosmetic dentist. There is no recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry, so anyone can learn the procedures and call themselves a cosmetic dentist. Being Lumineers certified doesn’t guarantee quality veneer work either. To get certified to place Lumineers you just attend their class. There is no test to make sure the dentists know what they’re doing. There is no examination of the quality of their work. If you sit through the class, you’re certified. What you want to find more than a Lumineers certified dentist, is a truly excellent cosmetic dentist, who can do beautiful porcelain veneers whether he uses the Lumineers brand or not. An excellent cosmetic dentist cares about the artistic quality of his work and will not be satisfied until you are. One way to find that is to look on the mynewsmile.com website. On that site, a cosmetic dentist recommends quality cosmetic dentists in each state. It isn’t easy to get recommended by him. Dr. Hadgis is and had to demonstrate is qualifications both in his training, and in submitting samples of his work.
I also think you have a decent chance of getting a refund if you go about it carefully. First, make sure you don’t have them do any more work on this case. This just increases their chair time and costs them more money, as well as you.
Second, let him know how dissatisfied you are. Your best points are: 1. He didn’t follow through with his word of letting you look at it in different lights and making sure you were completely satisfied before permanently bonding them. 2. Your daughter has suffered emotional hardship.
Third, I would enlist the help of a dentist from either out of state or another city. Go and see a qualified cosmetic dentist elsewhere, letting them see the poor craftsmanship of your current dentist’s work, and ask if he’d be willing to help you get a refund. Dentists care about their reputation with their peers, so he’ll be in a better position to criticize the work than you will.
Finally, if you’ve put the charges on your credit card and haven’t paid them yet, let the dentist know you plan on filing a complaint with the credit card company and will be refusing the charges unless you get a refund.
If you follow these steps, you have a decent chance of getting a refund and having quality cosmetic work done on your daughters smile.
Good luck.
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