I had a chipped tooth which had been repaired with dental bonding. The bonding was getting old and needed to be replaced, however, the dentist said because the chip was 1/5 of the tooth I needed to have a crown. I didn’t want to do that because the tooth itself was healthy. I suggested she do a porcelain veneer instead, which she agreed to. When they tried on the veneer, I saw it in a mirror and it looked fine. I expected it to be whiter than the other teeth because we planned on doing teeth whitening after I was done with the repair. I gave the okay and they bonded it on. I didn’t see it after that but they told me it was beautiful. When I got home. I noticed right away it was too long so it wasn’t matching up properly with the adjacent tooth. Plus, it doesn’t seem to be up against the tooth like it is supposed to be. It seems to stick out further and there is some space between the veneer and the tooth. I called them and they said that it was bonded fine and the tooth probably moved and there wasn’t anything they could do. Am I being overly picky? It just looks funny to me.
Amanda
Dear Amanda,
There are a few things your dentist got wrong here. I’m going to say right off I don’t think this is the best dentist to do your cosmetic work (of any kind). First, the teeth whitening. That should have been done before you had the veneer made. Then, you would wait two weeks for the color to settle down. You want your front teeth to be an EXACT match, which you can get if you do the whitening and then the veneers, but not if you do the porcelain veneers and then the whitening.
Next, the repair for the chipped tooth. The right repair for that would be to have dental bonding done. I know she said that your chip was too big. However, if that was the case, why would you be able to have bonding done to begin with and not this time? When she suggested the dental crown, it tells me she didn’t know how to do dental bonding and was using that as an excuse. A crown is a massive overtreatment for a chip. You recognized that yourself, which is why you suggested a veneer instead.
Now, the porcelain veneer itself. They let you see it before they bonded it on. That’s good and as it should be. However, it looks like when they bonded it on, things went screwy. It’s likely she didn’t notice it until after she cured it and was too embarrassed to tell you. That’s not okay. The fact that they didn’t offer to let you look at it hints to me that they knew. So, instead of admitting their mistake, they tell you it looks great. That isn’t ethical.
I know they said that nothing could be done about it, but that’s not true. They could re-do it. I would like you to ask for a refund. My guess is she knows what she did wrong and won’t give you too much trouble. If she does, get a second opinion from an expert cosmetic dentist. You can look on mynewsmile.com to find one in your area. Have them get good photographs of the case to show what went wrong, then tell your current dentist that you will be talking to the dental board. That will get her attention and should secure your refund. Then, you can have a more experienced cosmetic dentist work on your case.
This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.