I have five porcelain veneers and one dental crown. The problem I am having is getting the crown to match the veneers. Right now the crown is actually whiter than the veneers. I think that happened because he is trying to overcome the dark stub. I’ve seen these match before on other people, so I’m wondering what I can do to help my dentist get this right. I like the guy, so I don’t want to just ask for a refund and go somewhere else.
Anthony
Dear Anthony,
I hope your dentist appreciates your loyalty and willingness to be patient as he learns. To answer your question, yes, there is a way to get this done to where your dental crown matches your porcelain veneers. One of the problems your dentist faces is that cosmetic dentistry isn’t really taught at dental school. they minimize the expertise required to do it well and tell dentists it is easy to learn. All while not teaching them some very basic color theory that will be essential.
There are two ways around this. One is directly with the porcelain at the lab. However, this would require a high level of skill and I am not confident the lab will have the skills. The other is for the dentist to add an opaquer to the tooth before he sends the case off to the lab. This is the way I am going to recommend. Your dentist will shave a little extra layer from the dark part of the tooth. Then, he can directly apply an opaque layer of composite. He will want enough room to create the translucent look with the porcelain that will bond on top of that, so the deeper the layer of opaquer, the more room he will have to do that.
If your dentist has a real interest in cosmetic dentistry, He should invest in some post-doctoral training and work toward becoming accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists have the skills and training to create stunning smile makeovers and are in the top 3% of cosmetic dentists in the country.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.