I’m devastated by how my dental implant turned out. I lost a front tooth due to a fall down the stairs. My dentist assured me that he’d be able to give me a new tooth that would help me smile again. The dental implant part is fine, but it doesn’t match my other teeth. It’s way more obvious because it’s a front tooth. I haven’t smiled since the fall. I just don’t know what to do. Can this be fixed or whitened? If not, I’m pretty sure I’ll never smile again.

Misty

Dear Misty,

I have two pieces of good news for you. First, this can be fixed. Second, you won’t need to do the dental implant over. However, teeth whitening won’t be your solution for two reasons.

One, teeth whitening only works on natural tooth structure. What would happen is the teeth surrounding the implant crown would whiten but not the crown itself.

Second, even if it could whiten, you wouldn’t be able to get an exact match to your tooth that way. You might get close, but front teeth are very exposed. Any little difference is noticeable.

Matching a Single Implant Crown

Because of that, matching a single front tooth requires an expert cosmetic dentist. Only a small percentage of cosmetic dentists are able to do it well.

In your place, I’d look for a dentist who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. AACD accredited dentists have passed stringent oral and written exams on technical skill and knowledge as well as submitted a large number of specific cases they’ve done in order to demonstrate their artistry.

If you don’t have one within a reasonable driving distance, a second option would be to look on mynewsmile.com to find one of their recommended dentists in your state.

Cosmetic dentists from either site can re-do your crown to match the adjacent teeth.

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