Archives for January 2021

Teeth Under My Porcelain Veneers are Turning Dark

January 28, 2021 by writeradmin

I paid a small fortune for a smile makeover. For some reason, the teeth underneath it are turning dark. My dentist doesn’t seem to believe me. I don’t think I am imagining this. I wonder if it has something to do with the tops of the veneers don’t quite go flush with the gumline. There is a bit of a ledge there.

Portia

Dear Portia,

Bear in mind I haven’t actually seen your porcelain veneers, Based on what you’ve described, though. you have got a big problem here. It sounds to me that you have some open margins which is leading to leaking. This means your porcelain veneers need to be replaced. There is more at stake here than just the appearance. You are also putting your teeth at risk.

What is going on is your porcelain veneers were not bonded on properly. As a result, there is food and other bacteria getting trapped between your teeth and your porcelain veneers. That bacteria will sit on your teeth and turn into decay.

It doesn’t sound like your dentist is willing to own up to his error without some encouragement. Most dentists want to look good in front of their peers. My suggestion is you get another dentist on your side. In this case, you will want to see an expert cosmetic dentist. I recommend you see if there is an AACD accredited dentist in your area.

Have them look at your smile makeover and see what they say about it. Make sure it is a blind second opinion. By that, I mean don’t tell your dentist who did your smile makeover. If they ask, tell them you want their unbiased opinion.

If it turns out I am right and you do need to have these replaced, the dentist can help you get a refund. Then, I would make sure you have the expert cosmetic dentist do the new veneers. You’ll have much more beautiful results that will last a long time.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Dentist Won’t Do Bonding

January 23, 2021 by writeradmin

I have black triangles that developed after some orthodontics. I read online that this can be fixed with dental bonding but my dentist is insisting this is a bad idea. I don’t want to leave these holes so what can I say to convince him? I’ve tried showing him an article about it and he really still doesn’t think it is a good idea.

Brenda

Dear Brenda,

While you are correct that dental bonding will be a good solution for this, I would not push him into this. When a dentist tries to steer a patient away from a procedure, it is usually because they are not qualified to do it but do not want their patient to lose confidence in them.

This is an advanced, tricky procedure to do. In your place, I am going to suggest you see a dentist with the training necessary to do it. The dentists with proven skills and training are AACD accredited. There are other excellent cosmetic dentists as well, but these have already been tested so you know what you are getting into. If I were in your position. That would be the dentist I’d use.

If you are interested in whitening your teeth. Make certain you do it before you have any bonding done. The color can’t be changed on the bonding after it is done, so you want any color matching to be done with the color you are going to keep.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Getting Front Implant Teeth to Look Beautiful

January 16, 2021 by writeradmin

I am about to get four dental implants on my front teeth, but I want them to look beautiful. I’ve been doing research and read that I need to have a porcelain and not a porcelain fused to metal crown or they will look ugly. My dentist is talking about putting crowns (not implants) on the two adjacent teeth in order to make sure everything matches. I realized after reading that we never talked about what type of dental crowns he’s planning on using. I should talk to him about that before moving forward. What else should I be looking into?

Catherine

Dear Catherine,

I am very glad you wrote. You are correct that you want all-porcelain crowns. For front teeth, it is essential. You mentioned something else that has concerned me, however. You said your dentist is planning on placing two extra (and if I understand correctly, unnecessary) dental crowns on your adjacent teeth in order to get everything to match. That is a particularly bad sign that tells me this dentist is inexperienced in cosmetic dentistry.

Neither the cosmetic or dental implant fields are recognized specialties. This means that any general dentist can do the procedures regardless of the amount of training they’ve received. For cosmetic dentistry, this means people spending a fortune for smiles that end up disappointing at best. For dental implants, it has become one of the leading litigated malpractice procedures. For some patients, that has led to serious complications, including losing part of their jaw.

You are going to need to find a dentist who has both dental implant and cosmetic training. Because it is your front teeth, I would start with the cosmetic qualifications and then look for someone on that list who also has the right dental implant training.

Finding the Right Dentist for Your Implants

My suggestion is to find a dentist who has reach accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists are among the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They have passed stringent exams proving their technical knowledge about every facet of the procedures. Then they had to pass an examination board that carefully looked at before and after results of a large number of cases they’ve worked on to prove that not only can they translate that knowledge to their practical skill, but they also have the artistry to create beautiful results.

Once you’ve made a list of AACD accredited dentists you are willing to travel to use, look at their dental implant qualifications. Ideally, they will have done post-doctoral studies at one of the following institutions:

Dawson Academy
Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
The Kois Center

There are others, but these three are among the top.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.

Dentist Says I Can’t Whiten My Teeth

January 3, 2021 by writeradmin

I have really ugly teeth and wanted to get them whitened. However, my dentist said my teeth are endogenous and because of that, I cannot get them whitened. Is that true? If so, is there anything I can do to make them look better? I am so embarrassed by my smile.

Kelly Anne

Dear Kelly Anne,

There is always something you can do to make your teeth look better. I’m sorry your dentist was zero help to you. I am not crazy about it when dentists use clinical words with patients without explaining what it means. That doesn’t help you at all.

What he is trying to say is the stains on your teeth are endogenous, not your teeth themselves. Endogenous stains are simply stains that were acquired while your tooth was developing. There are two categories of this that dentists see most often.

The first is tetracycline stains. These are the result of taking the tetracycline medication during childhood while your teeth were still developing. Even professional teeth whitening does not make much headway with these type of stains. They are just too deep and dark.

The second is fluorosis stains. These are the result of consuming too much fluoride during your teeth’s development. While they are more superficial, teeth whitening is still not a good solution because the fluorosis stains usually result is splotched teeth. Because teeth whitening bleaches the teeth uniformly, the teeth will be whiter but still splotchy. That’s not an attractive look.

The Solution for Endogenous Teeth Stains

The best solution in both of these cases is to have porcelain veneers placed. These tiny wafers of porcelain that cover your teeth are the go-to procedure for celebrity smile makeovers. They can change anything you want about your smile, including the shape, size, and color.

The only real catch with these is it requires an advanced cosmetic dentist to give you beautiful results. Smile makeovers are not taught in dental school. It is up to the dentist how much training they invest in to do this type of work. Tetracycline stains, especially, are among the most difficult cases for a dentist to do. In your place, I would only go to an AACD accredited dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.