I spent a good amount of money hoping to get my dream smile makeover. It’s been a disaster from the beginning. I selected a very white color because my natural teeth were very white. I just didn’t like their shape. My dentist gave me six porcelain crowns. However, when the came in they didn’t look as white as I expected. He assured me it is the color I asked for. Now, to make matters worse, the crowns seem to stain every time I even drink something. I am going in for a consultation with another dentist and I have no idea what to even ask him. Do you have any recommendations?
Dinah
Dear Dinah,
Porcelain Veneers
I am sorry this happened to you. The first thing I’d like to ask is why dental crowns? Typically, a smile makeover is done with porcelain veneers. Was there some decay on the teeth that required crowns or were there already crowns there? Either way, it is water under the bridge. Those teeth will always need dental crowns from now on because the structure of the tooth has been ground down to fit the crowns over them.
One other thing that bothers me is why the crowns are picking up stains. If he truly gave you porcelain crowns, they would be very stain resistant. In fact, they’d be even more stain resistant than your natural teeth. I’m prone to wonder if he just said they were porcelain but used some other type of material. That is the first thing I’d have the dentist you are going to for a consultation look at.
However, let’s back up a bit. What makes you think this dentist you are going to get the consultation from is any better than the one who provided your disappointing results to begin with? I would make sure you are going to an expert cosmetic dentist. Look for someone who is AACD accredited. Then you’ll be certain to have an expert with both technical and artistic skill to work on your smile.
By the way, if it turns out your dentist gave you something other than porcelain crowns, you can get your money back because of misrepresentation.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.