Smile Makeover Disaster
I am heart broken. I’ve had tetracycline stains for most of my life. I asked my dentist getting porcelain veneers to cover them and he said that it could only be done with dental crowns in order to cover the stains. I trusted him and now I have six veneers that look really fake, plus there is still some of the gray showing. Is it possible to switch these to veneers? If not, is there a way to get them to look natural?
Emma
Dear Emma,
First let me say how sorry I am that you are having to deal with this. A smile makeover should be a celebration with a smile you cannot wait to share with the world. I’m going to recommend that you ask for a refund from this dentist. I think you have a good case for a refund because he was not honest with you.
Covering tetracycline stains can be done with porcelain veneers. Inexperienced cosmetic dentists will recommend porcelain crowns because they are thicker and, as a result, some dentists think that will make them easier to hide the stains. It doesn’t. It takes advanced training because you need the veneers (and even the crowns) to be opaque enough to cover the tetracycline stains, but translucent enough to look natural. The problem you have now is that because he misled you into getting crowns, not only are your teeth weaker than they would have been because of all the grinding needed to fit them, but you are also stuck with crowns on those teeth forever.
Another issue you are facing, that he should have considered is the number of teeth he covered. In dentistry we have what is known as the aesthetic zone. This is the number of your teeth which are visible when you smile. In most cases, that is eight to ten teeth. As you can see in the picture above, when you don’t cover all the teeth in the aesthetic zone there is a stark difference between crowned teeth and the natural teeth, making them look fake.
I’m going to recommend after you get your refund that you only go to an expert cosmetic dentist to get this redone. I would look for an AACD accredited dentist. It’s even better if you can find an FAACD accredited dentist, but there aren’t many of those. Dentists from either of these groups are the best cosmetic dentists around.
This blog is brought to you by an expert cosmetic dentist in Cincinnati, Dr. Fred Peck.
Learn more about Dr. Peck here.