My new porcelain veneers are looking good, all except for one. This one had a small divot. I called my dentist about it and he agreed to fix it. When I went in for the repair, he ended up buffing it out. Now the tooth is uniform, but it no longer shines like the rest of them. Am I being too picky?
Evelyn
Dear Evelyn,
The glaze on porcelain veneers is essential.
No, you are not being too picky. When your dentist buffed out your divot, he simultaneously removed the glaze from that porcelain veneer. It sounds like your dentist forgot to re-polish it when he was done. Though it’s very likely he just doesn’t know how so he skipped that and hoped you wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, without the glaze on your porcelain veneers, they will begin to pick up stains quickly. The glaze is essential to keep your veneers beautiful and stain free.
Unlike natural tooth structure, you can’t just whiten porcelain veneers. Only natural teeth respond to teeth whitening. The veneer will stay the same.
The Correct Way to Polish Porcelain Veneers
There is a way to polish a porcelain veneer in a way that will get it very close to its original shine. It requires your dentist have special equipment and some knowledge. He’ll need diamond polishing instruments and polishing paste, as well as an ultra-fine diamond polishing paste to end with.
If our dentist is willing to try this, tell him I recommend Brasseler’s Dialite porcelain polishing system. This should be done free of charge to you because he is the one who damaged the veneer. Plus, he’s developing a new skill on you. If he’s not willing to do that, then he’ll need to replace the damaged veneer.
This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.