I had a chipped tooth which was repaired with dental bonding. That bonding fell off so I went to another dentist. This dentist said that bonding was not possible because 1/5 of the tooth was chipped and recommended getting a dental crown. That seemed too invasive to me so I asked for a porcelain veneer instead. She said she’d have to do two of them in order to get them to match. I agreed. Before it was bonded on I got to peek at them. They looked fine. They were whiter than my other teeth but we did that on purpose because I was going to whiten after getting the porcelain veneers. I did not see them after they were bonded on but they told me it looked fantastic. I left happy. When I got home, I noticed that one of the “teeth” is longer than the other. Not only that, the longer tooth has a bit of a ledge at the top so it appears they bonded it on too low. I called them, but they said that the tooth must have shifted and there is nothing they can do. How would my tooth shift away from a bonded veneer? Can this be fixed? If so, how do I go about getting it fixed?

Pamela

Dear Pamela,

We hear these types of cosmetic dentistry horror stories way too often and it generally distresses me for two reasons. First, it is a burden on the patients. Second, because it was completely preventable. There is so much wrong here with what your dentist did.

We’ll start with her saying that dental bonding was out of the question. Really? Why? Obviously, you had dental bonding done there to begin with so it was not impossible. My guess is your dentist said that because she did not know how to do the dental bonding, so instead she steered you toward the procedure she did know, which is a porcelain crown.

You felt that was removing too much healthy tooth structure (rightly, I might add) and asked to have porcelain veneers instead. Based on what happened next, I would say she wasn’t very comfortable with that procedure either but was too embarrassed to say so. Or, maybe she thinks she’s good at them.

Getting Beautiful Porcelain Veneers

I suspect they knew something was wrong when they bonded your veneers because they didn’t let you look at them. That doesn’t give me much confidence in their professional integrity. So, where do you go from here?

The good news is they messed up big time. That will help you get a refund. If the only thing wrong with your porcelain veneers was they looked bad, it would be up to the dentist whether or not you received a refund.

In your case, they bonded them improperly leaving what you described as a ledge. In dental circles, we call this open margins. This is a functional issue because food and other bacteria will get trapped there putting your teeth at risk of decay and your gums at risk of developing gum disease. She owes you a refund so you can get this fixed.

Once you have secured your refund, I am going to suggest you find a dentist who has been accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists are the top cosmetic dentists in the country. You will have a beautiful smile when they do the work.

Oh, one other thing. The teeth whitening should have been done before you had the porcelain veneers placed. That allows the dentist to get an exact match. That was another error on your dentist’s part.

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